Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

In the quiet streets of Saitama, where only the moonlight reflected softly on the asphalt, the creak of a sliding door echoed in the street. Sakuya stepped out onto the balcony of his mother’s apartment and immediately reached for the railing. He tiptoed, peeking past the roof, searching for the hidden piece of the sky. With all of the lights in the neighborhood switched off, nothing other than the moon dimmed the glow of the stars. But so far, no matter where Sakuya looked, there were no shooting stars yet. The only light the accompanied him, the moon, and the stars was from his glow-in-the-dark watch, which he glanced at. 2:22 AM, on May 6, 2026. A Wednesday. He had school the next day, but the boy chose to spend the entire night sitting in his room in silence and complete darkness. It was to help adjust his senses to the glow of the night sky. He waited for every streetlight to turn off just for this moment.

On May 6, 2026, Earth will collide with the star dust trail in the orbit of Halley’s comet. Though Halley’s comet can only be spotted every 76 years, the Earth intersects with its orbit every year. The collision will result in hundreds of shooting stars that zip through the sky. The Eta Aquarids meteor shower, at its peak, could have showers of 50 meteors per hour in the Southern Hemisphere. Its peak was predicted to be at dawn, from 2:30 AM to 4:30 AM in Japan.

Sakuya looked at his watch again. 2:26 AM. His foot tapped incessantly from the nerves. His eyes kept scanning the sky for any signs of sudden movement. He checked over the roof again, but nothing. They said it would be harder to see the shower from Saitama this year, since the moon was a bright waning gibbous that drowned out the shine of the stars. Not to mention the fact that Japan was in the Northern Hemisphere, where the peak was reduced to 30 shooting stars per hour. And Sakuya was not stupid—he was not about to hike up a mountain at 3 in the morning just to see them better in the dark.

So, he supposed he had to settle for this view. He clasped his hands together and shut his eyes tight enough to fold the skin between his eyebrows. He hoped he would see at least one shooting star. Only one is enough for what he wanted to wish for, anyway.

The watch beeped, and he checked it again. 2:29 AM. He took a sharp inhale of the cool air. It’s almost here. The tapping of his foot eventually turned into him bouncing his entire leg. He kept his eyes fixed on the sky, eyes still wandering, still searching. After a few seconds, he decided that his leg was distracting him. After a few more seconds, he fixed his eyes on the point in the sky where he knew the sun would rise.

Then finally, 2:30 AM. The watch beeped continuously from the alarm he’d set, but Sakuya did not register its noise. It was as if it was only him and the stars, floating in space, devoid of all that surrounded them. To him, it was deathly silent. The knots in his stomach twisted from the anticipation started to tug his insides a little bit painfully, and if this stupid wishing star wasn’t going to appear soon he was going to die.

He took another breath, this time deeper. His eyes remained focused on that point. 

And then. There it was. One shooting star.

It blazed through the sky so fast, Sakuya wasn’t even able to blink before it disappeared. And then another. And another. And two more in quick succession. And then another. But no more shooting stars.

He decided he had seen enough for his wish. He clasped his hands together again, and he rested his forehead against them. He muttered some words under his breath, unintelligible for anyone else other than him. He stayed there, unmoving, on the balcony in the quiet night of Saitama, wishing with all his heart that his greatest wish would come true. Six shooting stars would surely grant him this.

When his watch finally read 4:01 AM, Sakuya headed back inside. The creak of the sliding door echoed again as he closed it. He plopped down on his bed and belatedly thought about how he should have wished for their final exams to be moved as well. Just to see if it really works.

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Knocks came rapping on his door two hours later.

“Onii-chan! Mom says it's time to eat!”

Sakuya only groaned and rolled over to a different spot in his bed. After making the wish, he should have slept, but the light of the moment was too good to pass up. He was entranced by the shifting stars and the silence of the streets. It felt like every breath he took in that moment was freeing, almost essential to Sakuya’s youth. He was a hopeless romantic that way.

He slowly pushed himself up and out of bed. The next moments unfolded on auto-pilot. Sakuya went through the motions of eating his toast and fixing his hair in front of the mirror, before he roughly pulled the heels of his shoes over the back of his feet because he didn’t want to fix his shoelaces again. He waited for exactly five minutes, and like clockwork, he felt a tug on his sleeve, and he was dragged outside the door by his little sister. Just like they do every morning, Sakuya and his sister began their trek to school.

It was the same monotonous view every day, so Sakuya learned to keep his eyes on the road, or on his little sister when she asked him ridiculous questions. When he was still a freshman, he tried romanticizing the route to school, like stopping to see if the sky would look different today, or going early to wait on a bench in hopes someone would approach him. That lasted approximately two weeks before he concluded that even the silence in the morning was the same every day.

“Onii-chan, do you have a boyfriend yet?”

“No. Seriously, that’s the fifth time you asked me that today,” Sakuya snapped. His sister wasn’t even facing him; she was fixing her bangs while looking at the tiny mirror in her palm. She pocketed it after a few moments of fiddling with her hair.

“That’s ‘cuz I don’t believe it,” she replied with an incredulous tone that did not match her uninterested expression. “I mean, how does someone like you not have a boyfriend already?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sakuya’s sister tugged at his sleeve again and thoughtfully stared at the sky. “Well, you’re cute! Like, with your whole aesthetic and your face or whatever. You’re really funny, to some people, not me. You’ve got good grades, you’re good at dancing. And lots more, probably, I don’t know.”

Sakuya let out a snort. “Thanks? Those seem like really shallow reasons to like someone though.”

His sister abruptly let go of his sleeve and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I was literally complimenting you.”

“Why do you want me to get a boyfriend so badly?”

His sister faced him as she walked backwards. “It’s not that I need you to get one. I just think people are missing out, ya know?”

Sakuya rolled his eyes and picked up the pace to match his sister’s. “Love the support. You are somehow a worse romantic than I am.”

His sister stuck out her tongue at him, before clinging to his sleeve again. A comfortable silence fell over them. After a few more steps, his sister jogged over to her school. She turned around to give him one final wave goodbye and a ‘bye bye!’ and then linked arms with her classmate. Sakuya frowned.

While he resumed his walk to his own school, he thought about how his ridiculous his sister’s question was. She didn’t know this, not even their parents knew this, but Sakuya had no friends. Whatever his family thought of him, his batchmates didn’t seem to think the same. Sure, they could all hold a civil conversation with him, and he could joke around with them every now and then, but no one really connected with him. The version of him that they knew wasn’t the one who had 20 keychains strapped to his bag, or the one who wore pink clip-on earrings, or the one who stanned idol groups and gushed about his bias. They didn’t know that beyond those things was a boy who desperately wished on stars in hopes to find someone destined for him.

Because Sakuya really was just a hopeless romantic. He was a high schooler who obsessed over legends about star-crossed lovers and red strings of fate. Cliche and cheesy things that most kids his age don’t even think about, simply because they don’t need to. Sakuya, on the other hand, kept hoping that one day he would meet that someone who was going to spend the rest of his life with him, to guide him to his true purpose in life.

Sakuya wasn’t anyone special; he had no hobbies other than researching about soulmates, and he was average at best in sports and art. This left him with even less of a clue of what he was going to do in college. He honestly just signed up for the liberal arts track because it gave him an excuse to feed into his obsession. Now sat at his desk by the window, second seat from the front, Sakuya realized he was caught in the strange limbo of 2nd-year high school, between the extremely optimistic self he was in freshman year and the future decided version of himself in senior year. He felt like he had to be a bridge between the two somehow, but he didn’t know how. His mom wanted him to explore even more interests (he had no idea what to explore), and his dad wanted him to follow him in his job as a salaryman (the idea of sitting in an office all year was suffocating).

In other words, he was stuck, waiting for someone to pull him out of this hole.

Sakuya doesn’t even register that class was going on around him. The discussions of derivatives and research paper writing flew by with his head crouched down on his desk. No teacher took notice of him, which seemed to be the case normally. By the time recess rolled around, he decided to remain in his position. The 2 AM sleep caught up to him, sinking deep into his bones and seeping out through his yawns. No one shook him awake, no one called for him.

After a few more periods where Sakuya remained still, the day officially passed by. He emerged with his back aching and his eyes unwilling to open. When he closed them for long enough, he could see the shooting stars from the morning sky imprinted into his mind. 

Everything around him was distant, save for the groggy thumps of his feet against the ground. He mindlessly carried himself all the way to the field, to a bench hidden under the shade of a sakura tree. He lay down immediately, raising an arm to shield his eyes from the rays peeking through the petals.

Sakuya let the memory of the shooting stars replay once more. Six shooting stars moving across the sky, each with a different trajectory, spilling from the jar of Aquarius like water droplets. 

Maybe I should have wished for five more things…

“Hey—watch out!”

He registered the pain before he saw the volleyball flying his way, maybe because he didn’t see it at all. His eyes shot open, and his arm moved to clutch at his stomach, and wow, that really hurt. He felt more than heard himself wheezing, if the painful effort of his lungs to pump in air was anything to go by.

“That’s why you gotta aim while you spike, bakayaro! You could’ve seriously hurt him, man…”

“My bad!...”

Sakuya barely registered the footsteps that approached him. When he forced his eyes to open a little bit more, he was face to face with a boy. He looked taller, stronger, with tan skin, probably from playing volleyball every day under the sun. He got a glimpse at his nametag: Maeda Riku, 3rd year.

“Hey, you okay? Wanna go to the clinic?” he whispered. Sakuya noted his nasally tone.

Sakuya shook his head. “I’m fine. I just need to sit up.”

Riku nodded, and held out his hand. Sakuya took the offer, and Riku gently pulled him up. Now that he was upright, it was easier for his lungs to take in air, and the pain in his stomach slowly subsided.

“You know,” Riku began, and Sakuya could feel his eyes scanning him up and down. “That’s the first time someone’s ever sat there, on that bench. Not that it’s an excuse for reckless playing, but, well…we just weren’t expecting anyone to be there.”

Sakuya didn’t know what to say to that, so he just nodded. But Riku’s gaze never wavered.

“I haven’t seen you before…what’s your name?”

Sakuya stiffened slightly, caught off-guard. The awkwardness began seizing his throat. “Fujinaga Sakuya…senpai.”

Riku hummed. “I’m Riku. 3rd year. How about you?”

“I’m in my 2nd year.”

“Ah, I see. I don’t think I’ve seen you in any clubs before. Do you play sports?”

Sakuya nodded. “Yes, but I’m not that good at it.”

Riku face slightly crumpled at that. “Eh, but can you at least play volleyball?”

“No, I only know how to play soccer since we learned it in P.E.”

Riku hummed again, slumping over. “That’s too bad. I was gonna ask you to play with us as an apology.”

Silence came over them. Sakuya’s mind raced the longer the moment stretched. What do I do? He half-considered turning down the offer, since he did nearly die via spike earlier—who knew what would happen on the court, right? But the other half…

He glanced at Riku, who was staring at the ground with a bummed look on his face. His feet were restlessly gliding on the grass, no doubt itching to return to the game. Sakuya’s heart clenched slightly at the possibility that Riku simply grew disinterested in him after that short conversation. But the undeniable fact was that Riku was still there, on the bench, waiting for Sakuya to give him a reply. If he wanted to leave, he would have ended it moments ago. That had to mean something, there was still a chance.

Even in this incredibly awkward moment, Sakuya didn’t mind holding on to Riku a little while longer. It was a new feeling, the want to stick by someone’s side.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Riku stand up, and that was enough to snap him out of his thoughts. He quickly stood up too.

“Wait! Uh…”

Riku turned back. “Hm? What’s up?”

“I…” There’s something about Riku-senpai, something that I can’t explain. It’s pulling me in. “I want to play.”

Riku’s eyes widened ever so slightly then returned to normal, almost like Sakuya imagined it. “Oh! You sure?”

Sakuya’s heart felt a pinch again. Does he not want me to? “Yes…? But I don’t know how.”

“It’s fine,” Riku replied. “I’m a great teacher anyway.”

And finally, Riku smiled. He smiled with his whole heart shining through his eyes and grin. With the sun behind him, outlining his silhouette, Riku looked like he was an angel sent from the stars. His blinding smile was as if Sakuya bestowed upon him the greatest gift to ever exist. He couldn’t help but feel like it was Riku who gave it to him instead.

“Come on, you’re on my team,” Riku held out his hand. Sakuya took it without hesitation, and the two of them were running off to the court. In the back of his mind, Sakuya was sure something clicked into place. Riku’s hand in his felt warm, felt right. Is this what it feels like to have a friend?

Even as Sakuya scraped his knee on the rough ground after diving for the ball, and Riku ran over to him in concern, his heart had never felt lighter. He got up, and laughed it off with Riku, and for the first time, he felt like he was on the right track. He had never been so sure of anything in his life.

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Weeks later, Riku and Sakuya had become inseparable.

They were an unlikely duo, with Riku being the star player of their school’s volleyball team, and Sakuya being basically a nobody. But they quickly became each other’s home. Every lunch, Sakuya had a companion to look forward to, and new bruises to emerge from playing volleyball. Every dismissal, Riku had someone to rest under the sakura tree with while they talked about everything and nothing. Each time they spent together, Sakuya felt that undeniable tug on his heart that made want to practically stick to Riku. Every time Riku initiated contact, his body thrummed with contentment and happiness.

That June afternoon was one of those moments. They were laying down on the grass. Riku was tossing his volleyball and humming an obscure tune, while Sakuya was rereading a soulmate legend on his phone. He was so engrossed in his research that he didn’t hear the tossing stop. He didn’t feel Riku crawl over beside him and peek at his phone.

“Saku-chan, what’s that?” Riku’s voice broke Sakuya’s concentration. Sakuya turned his head to look at Riku, who was squinting to read the text on his phone.

“It’s a soulmate legend,” he said, moving his phone closer to Riku so he could read the title.

“Ah, the red string of fate thing?”

Sakuya nodded. “You’ve heard of it?”

“Yeah,” Riku moved back to his old spot. He held his volleyball in the air, and then began tossing it again. “It’s about lovers who are fated right? Like, they’re connected by a red string that will never break, or something like that.”

“Yup. That’s the one. How’d you know about it, senpai?”

“My sisters love reading about that stuff. They keep telling me about how they can’t wait to find their own fated soulmates.”

Sakuya hummed. That sounded much like his own feelings.

Riku caught the ball after one last toss. He rolled on his side so he could face Sakuya. “Do you believe in that stuff, Saku-chan?”

Sakuya froze. He did not know how to answer. One one hand, he could lie and play it off as just curiosity, like he’s done so many times before. But on the other hand…Riku was someone he had grown very close to in a matter of weeks. So far, he had never felt judgement from him, even when he fell flat on his face after missing the timing for spikes. Sakuya trusted him.

“Yeah, I do.”

He braced for an interrogation. Instead of the big reactions he expected like ‘Eh? Seriously?’, or ‘That’s so childish of you!’, or something along those lines, Riku just nodded.

“I do, too,” he said, then smiled. Sakuya internally let relief flood his body. “It’s a nice thought, y’know? Like someone’s out there waiting for you, and you’re waiting for them too.”

Sakuya had never felt so seen before. “Exactly! That’s why I love reading about them.”

Riku snuggled in closer to Sakuya, curling an arm around his waist, which Sakuya placed his own hand on. “What else have you read? I only know that one.”

And really, once Sakuya got going about this thing, he was never gonna stop.

“Lots of Asian legends. There’s one Japanese tale about star-crossed lovers—you know the Tanabata festival, right?” He heard a grunt of agreement from Riku. “It’s not the original one, but all the versions of it are the same anyway. It’s about a weaver who fell in love with a cow herder. They live on opposite sides of the Milky Way, it’s like a river. They were separated forever by the weaver’s father, and they can only meet once a year on Tanabata.”

Riku pulled away slightly, properly facing Sakuya this time. “Why’d they get separated?”

“The weaver originally made this cloth that her father loved. When she fell in love with the cow herder, she got distracted and stopped weaving that cloth. And also the guy let a lot of cows loose in the kingdom. That’s why he got mad and separated them.”

“That sucks,” Riku mumbled, fiddling with Sakuya’s hair.

“Yeah. But the reason they could meet is because the weaver promised her father that she was gonna work on the cloth again, and he gave in.”

“But still, once a year?” Riku resorted to poking his cheek this time. Sakuya had never been one for physical affection, but he found nothing in his heart that wanted to swat Riku’s hand away. “If my mom told me I could only meet my boyfriend once a year, I’d seriously die.”

Sakuya looked at Riku with wide eyes. Riku’s finger ended up poking his nose. “You have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” Riku retracted his hand, and his eyes held Sakuya’s incredulous stare. His eyes held no fear or shame, maybe only a mild hint of defiance, probably because Sakuya’s gaping was giving off judgemental signals.

“Sorry—I mean, since when? I don’t think you’ve told me about him before?”

Riku’s eyes softened again, but this time he averted his gaze towards whatever was behind Sakuya’s shoulder. A shield, Sakuya noted as he laid back down. “I only confessed to him last week. I was finding the right time to bring him up.”

Sakuya gave a tiny nod. He quietly reached out to pat Riku’s arm, a sign for him to continue. “How’d you two meet?”

“I’ve noticed him since freshman year. He was playing piano in the music room one afternoon, I watched him on my way to practice. He’s really good, but he’s even better at singing. I kinda just barged in there, ‘cuz I was gonna befriend him or something. He took one look at me and just booked it out of there.”

Sakuya laughed. He could picture it all: Riku as the same confident, wide-eyed guy he was now, and his boyfriend’s shy and terrified expression right before bolting from that warmly-lit music room. He must have been singing his heart out while softly pressing the keys, and then Riku must have thrown the door open. It was a scene straight out of a teen romance drama.

Riku himself smiled fondly at the memory. “After that, I just looked for him every day. The first year, I only admired him from afar. The second year though, we became classmates. He had no escape from me. I told him straight up that I wanted to be his friend. We’ve spent every day together since then.”

Sakuya’s brow raised at that the statement. “But I’ve never seen him around?”

“Yeah, he’s been busy since the start of the year. He’s preparing for his music college auditions,” Riku explained, returning to poking Sakuya’s cheek. “He’s finally gonna be free this week.”

“Oh! Can I meet him?”

Riku nodded. “Yup! I was gonna ask both of you if you wanted to go out some time.”

“Just tell me when, senpai.”

“Of course,” Riku replied, then he fell silent. His finger moved from poking Sakuya’s cheek to tapping on his earring. “Are these real piercings?”

“Nope. I wear clip-ons. I’ve always wanted to get my ears pierced for real, though.”

“Ah, I see,” Riku continued to tap on his earring. Sakuya felt him stop, and suddenly there was no warmth beside him. He looked up at Riku, who sat up and started collecting his things.

“Do you wanna go shopping with me?”

Sakuya sat up too. “Like, now?”

“Mhm, now,” Riku stood up, brushing off any leaves that clung to his pants. He slung his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go get your ears pierced.”

Sakuya only sat there with his mouth hanging open. Riku had already taken a few steps, yet Sakuya had not budged from his spot. “Wait—right now? Hold on. Does it have to be today?”

Riku finally turned back. “I thought you said you wanted to get your ears pierced?”

“I did, but I’m not ready!” Sakuya stood up, rushing to stuff his phone in his bag then shove his arm through the straps. “What if it hurts really bad? What if they get infected? I gotta mentally prepare for this stuff senpai.”

Riku waited for Sakuya to catch up to him, eager footsteps contradicting the doubts he blurted out. “Honestly, if you just follow the instructions, you’ll be fine. And it doesn’t hurt that much to get your earlobes pierced.”

“Eh? You have piercings in other places, senpai?”

“Well, they’re all on my ears. Like here, and here. Over here, too.”

“Eh, so cool! I didn’t see that you had more on both ears.”

For the first time, the silent and ordinary asphalt-lined streets of Saitama truly came alive in Sakuya’s eyes. During the hours when he usually went home before that day, he found the sun’s heat unbearable, and the sound of other students stumbling out of the gates too noisy. He had never thought of the afternoon glow painting the buildings as a particularly beautiful sight, nor had he considered that his walks home from school were too boring and quiet. But with Riku, who was so loud and full of life that you couldn’t truly take your eyes off of him, Sakuya’s world burst with color.

The way Riku walked was messy, and unpredictable. He swerved, switched the position of his bag too often, he sped up and walked backwards to face Sakuya, or he stopped altogether to read the kanji of a shop sign. The way he talked wasn’t any different from how he was at school, but the fact that they were in public made his weird laughter a little bit embarrassing. This was nothing like the steady continuous walk that Sakuya was familiar with, where his eyes only focused on the road. But honestly, Sakuya could live with this version of his life.

By the time they finally got to the jewelry shop, Sakuya’s heart was thumping hard in his chest. When the assistant finished wiping his earlobes with alcohol wipes, his nerves were ablaze.

“Riku-senpai, I really really really can’t do this. Nope,” Sakuya gripped hard onto Riku’s arm. The assistant paid him no mind, resuming her work of disinfecting the equipment. In the corner of Sakuya’s eye, he could see just how sharp the piercing tool really was, help.

“It’s really okay, Saku-chan,” Riku coaxed him with a gentle voice and a hand petting his hair. “It’s gonna be done in a few seconds. It’s like a pinch.”

A very, very large pinch with nails, Sakuya thought. His knees shook even though he was seated.

“Okay, sir, please relax for me,” The assistant spoke in her distant customer service tone. She aligned the tool with the spot Sakuya pointed out earlier on his earlobe, and Sakuya felt the slight graze of the needle on his skin. “Three, two, one.”

She clamped down. Sakuya winced from the slight pain when he felt the needle pierce through, but then the sensation dulled out to an foreign ache. Just like that, one of his ears was pierced.

“Okay, I’ll move on to the next one. Again, please relax,” The assistant spoke again. Sakuya could barely focus on this one, instead trying to get used to the feeling of the weight on his other ear. “Three, two, one.”

Another sharp pain. And then it gave way to that same ache.

“Yay, good job Saku-chan!” Riku tousled his hair again, and Sakuya found some comfort in the gesture. Riku dragged him out of his chair to the mirror in front of the display of earrings.

“So cute!” Riku smiled at Sakuya’s reflection. “The earrings you chose suit you so well.”

“I think so too. These are so cute,” Sakuya slightly turned his head to admire his piercings. He chose a sparkly pink set shaped like four-leaf clovers, with a pink gemstone in the middle. The color contrasted with his black hair in a nice, soft way. They weren’t dangling low enough to be noticeable, and they reminded him of his clip-on pair in a way. It was perfect.

Sakuya glanced at Riku through the mirror. Their eyes met, and he could practically feel the affection gushing out of Riku’s stare. He smiled, heart light and almost floating in his chest. He had never felt so loved before.

“Senpai, thank you,” he whispered, only for two of them to hear. “Seriously, thanks. This was something I never thought I’d get to do with a friend before.”

Riku enveloped him in a hug. “Aw, my dear Saku-chan.”

There was so much more that Sakuya wanted to say, but he chose to save them all for the future. He didn’t know when, but just sometime.

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“I’m home.”

Sakuya’s mother peeked at the door for a second and saw Sakuya with his head bowed down. “Welcome back. I just made dinner, go sit down.”

From the moment Sakuya stepped onto the raised floor of their house, the weight on his ears became harder to ignore. He knew he had to play it cool and be subtle, but his heart started hammering and his teeth starting nibbling at his bottom lip. How am I gonna hide the fact that I have sparkly piercings in my ears?

When he sat down beside his sister, he kept his head low, pretending to be hyper-focused on the plating of the sushi in front of them. So far, she was still focused on chatting her friends. The real challenge began when his mother sat down right in front of him, and Sakuya quietly cursed his family’s routine seating arrangement.

“Okay, now…” his mother signalled, pressing her palms together. Everyone followed suit.

“Let’s eat!” they said in unison, then they all grabbed their chopsticks. Even during eating, Sakuya willed his head to stay down. He hoped that his hair was doing something to block his mother’s view of his earrings. He also piled more sushi onto his plate to speed up dinnertime.

Unfortunately, on one movement where he was too harsh that he almost dropped the sushi, he raised his head. His sister whipped her head around to look at him, and laugh at him, but her mischievous grin morphed into a shocked gape.

“What the heck. Mom, onii-chan got piercings.”

Sakuya’s ears grew hot. His mother looked up from her plate, and she froze. Her eyes were clearly scanning his earrings, registering their treacherous sparkle in her mind.

“Huh?” her voice was not yet loud. Sakuya braced for impact. “Did you get them done today?”

Sakuya nodded. “Yeah…Riku-senpai took me.”

His father leaned in closer to inspect his ears. “The volleyball guy you befriended recently? Didn’t take him for a piercings guy.”

His mother sighed. “I thought you were going to get your ears pierced with me, and with your sister too,” she gestured to herself and to his sister, who continued dipping her sushi into soy sauce like nothing happened.

Sakuya rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the guilt wash over him. “I know, but today he kinda just…asked if I wanted to do it.”

His mom shook her head and stuffed her mouth with sushi. His dad was still looking at his earrings closely. The table was suffocatingly quiet for a few moments too long, and Sakuya wanted to combust so badly he could not eat another bite of sushi. What are they thinking? I need to know!

His sister put down her chopsticks beside him, the first one to finish eating. She took one more glimpse at his earrings and nodded. “I think they’re cute, I want a pair like that too. They suit onii-chan.”

Without looking up, his father grunted a noise of agreement through a mouthful of sushi. “Yeah, pink is your color Sakuya-chan. And they’re not dangling, so your school should be fine with them.”

Exactly what Sakuya thought.

“I just wished you told me what you were up to,” his mother aggressively dipped her sushi in her soy sauce, causing a few rice grains to fall off. “I can’t believe you got your ears pierced with a friend instead of us…”

Sakuya cowered, sadly biting down on the last sushi from his plate. He didn’t regret that he got his ears pierced with Riku there, but he didn’t think about what his mother would feel in that moment.

His mother put down her chopsticks. “You better take care of them well, okay? Then when they heal, we can go shopping for earrings with your sister.”

Sakuya looked up at her in surprise. “Yes, Mom.”

His mother collected all their dishes and stacked them together. She stood up and carried them off to the sink without another word. And just like that, it was as if the whole conversation never happened. Sakuya was left bewildered by how quick they were to move on.

Later, in his room, Sakuya’s phone lit up from a notification. It was from Riku.

iku 🖤

yahooo !! saku-chan

today was rlly so much fun

now we can match~ hehe

saku 🩷

haha yeah!!!

thanks again senpai 🫶

iku 🖤

wanna do some passes tom afternoon ?

wait help

u just got new piercings,, u might get hurt

saku 🩷

no no it’s fine senpai

i wanna play!!!

iku 🖤

okayy see ya !!

When Sakuya lay in bed that night, he gazed at his closed balcony door. He imagined the stars that blinked in the night sky, the shooting stars that must be falling in other parts of the world. He thought of Riku.

Riku really was incredible. He was someone that knew what he wanted, in every action. That’s what made him a good setter; he calculated the best strategy, communicated it, and executed it well. Though his choices were sometimes spontaneous (too spontaneous), he never wavered. He was unburdened by the roads he never took, walking calmly and confidently on the paths he chose. He was nothing like Sakuya who wandered aimlessly, floating between hobby to hobby, unsure how to shape himself into an acceptable version of…himself. He didn’t even know what that meant. Who do I even wanna be?

Sakuya went to sleep that night with the image of the stars behind his eyelids again.

──────────────────

The impact from the volleyball hurt when it hit Sakuya’s arm. It bounced up in an arch, gracefully received by Riku.

“Oh, you’re getting better,” he noted at the same time Sakuya tripped while chasing after the ball. “Or not?”

Sakuya threw the ball to Riku and bent over to catch his breath. “Give me five minutes.”

He heard Riku’s footsteps grow closer to him. “You’ve been distracted since we started. What’s up, Saku-chan?”

Sakuya waved his hand. “Nothing, senpai. Move back, I wanna go again.”

Riku did just that. Once he was back in position, he served the ball towards Sakuya. They passed the ball back and forth in a continuous rally, and Sakuya wasn’t doing too bad this time. Every time Riku switched up the trajectory of the ball, he sent them back up in the air without floundering to get into place. Riku looked like he wasn’t sweating. He just received what Sakuya gave him and gave it back three times harder. Each receive was done without so much as a struggle.

He really was so cool. Sakuya admired him so much.

“Senpai,” Sakuya called after a dig. His thighs were vaguely burning. “How long have you been playing volleyball?”

Riku sent back the ball to him with a spike. “Mm, for three years now.”

“Eh?” Sakuya extended his right arm to save the ball. It bounced back up. “Only three years? But you’re so good!”

Riku hummed. “Yup. I just watched and learned from my senpais.” He lightly passed the ball with a toss. “I didn’t really think of joining the volleyball team until high school.”

“Eh…” Sakuya got distracted, and he didn’t manage to reach the ball in time. “Why’d you wanna become a volleyball player then?”

Riku walked over to him. “Let’s take a break. Can you get the ball for me?”

After a few minutes, they both sat down in their spot under the sakura tree. Riku let Sakuya catch his breath, and he took a few sips of water himself. They both stared ahead at the field, and in Sakuya’s eyes he could see all the moments from their first meeting play out in front of him. Beside him, Riku sighed.

“I’m gonna be honest,” he started, “I didn’t know what I was gonna do for the longest time.”

Sakuya did not snap his head to look over at Riku despite his surprise. He just held his breath and waited.

“I didn’t have big dreams or anything,” Riku began pulling out tufts of grass around him. “I just wanted to live life, not chasing anything, just being chill. I was like ‘I’m gonna take whatever life throws at me’. I thought that whatever hobbies I had, one of them was gonna do something for me.”

Sakuya just nodded. He silently watched Riku toss away the leaves of grass he plucked out. Even while indecisive, Sakuya wondered how Riku was able to make peace with his own lack of ‘being’.

“When I entered this school, there wasn’t any basketball team, so I just joined the volleyball team,” Riku smiled. “You remind me of myself back then, Saku-chan. I was so bad at it, I couldn’t even do a simple receive.”

“Wow, ouch?” Sakuya rolled his eyes. “I can do that much, at least.”

Riku laughed, and the sound of it was so warm. “You improved faster than I did back then. Anyway, where was I? Right, so. I just got better, but I still wasn’t thinking about volleyball seriously. I was just thinking ‘here’s another thing that could lead somewhere’ or something like that. Do you get me?”

Sakuya nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay good, ‘cuz it’s kinda hard for me to say these things out loud,” Riku leaned back on his arms and gazed up at the leaves of the sakura tree. The shadows painted images on his face. “Anyway, in my first year, my senpais were gonna graduate soon, right? So we trained really hard for the Spring High. When we made it, the vibes of the court were so intense.”

Sakuya leaned back too. His eyes never drifted away from watching Riku.

“When I saw my senpais, they were so nervous they could die. They’d been fighting for a spot at Spring High since their first year, and this was the first and last time that they would play in high school. From the beginning, they had told me that it was their dream to win.”

Riku’s voice wobbled. He quickly bowed his head down, but Sakuya caught his eyes blinking rapidly. Was he crying?

“On that court…that was the first time I saw volleyball as more than a sport. I saw it as someone else’s dreams that I wanted to make come true. But above all of that, I realized that I wanted to play volleyball.”

Sakuya could see it: a younger Riku, with fierce eyes locked on the ball that soared high in the air. He could see him jump up to toss the ball to one of his senpais. He could see how the celebrated each point, with Riku’s hair being ruffled by his fellow members. He could feel for himself the passion blazing in Riku’s heart.

Beside him, Riku sniffled briefly. He lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes, and Sakuya moved to envelope him in a hug. Riku leaned into his embrace.

“Did you guys win?”

Riku smiled wistfully. “No.”

Sakuya frowned. “Oh.” He felt Riku’s hand softly stroke his arm.

“Yeah. I cried really hard that day. My senpais did their best to comfort me, but I knew their hearts were broken inside. But they told me something after that game.”

“What’d they say?”

Riku paused his movements. “They said they were passing their dream onto me. They were like ‘You grew into someone that we trust with the team. We believe in you, Riku’. But back then, I really thought that they just meant the Spring High. Now, I realized that it meant more.”

Sakuya pulled back from their hug. He found Riku already gazing at him with red eyes. His own eyes started watering, and his heart clenched. It hurt to see Riku cry.

“Because I saw them dream strongly, they inspired me to dream too. They helped me reach my higher potential without me realizing it. When I became team captain, I wanted to win for my senpais and for my kouhais. They said that they believe in me, so I’m gonna keep winning for them.”

And wow, isn’t that exactly what Sakuya wished for that night? Someone to inspire him to dream as well?

Riku sensed Sakuya’s silence. “By the way, why’d you ask, Saku-chan?”

Sakuya remembered his late night thoughts. “I just…I’ve been thinking for a while now what I want to do. I’m already in my second year, so the pressure is getting to me. And last night, I just wanted to know what made you know, because senpai seems so decisive about everything…”

Riku reached out to hold his hand. And Sakuya knew that he understood. “Well, I might not be the best person to ask this, even if we’re similar.” Sakuya’s heart dropped a little bit. Riku didn’t seem to take notice of his fallen expression. “But I want to tell you to really live in the present.”

Sakuya cocked his head. Riku’s hand was warm from where it remained clasped around his own. “You’re still in your second year; you have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. For now, though, just pay attention to the present. If you live every day constantly thinking of the future or of the past, you’re gonna miss so many chances. Listen to what your heart wants now, like how I listened when I joined the volleyball team. Your choices may be a bit spontaneous, and there may be doubts, but life is too short to think about the ‘what-ifs’, you know? Keep on taking those chances, Saku-chan.”

And that really was so Riku of him to think that way. As Sakuya glanced at his senpai again, his heart gained a newfound respect and admiration for him.

“Thanks, senpai. That actually helps,” Sakuya said, and he really meant it.

Riku wrapped him in his arms, coiling them tight around his frame. As they watched the sky flood with a golden glow, Sakuya thought about how Riku felt just like the scene in front of them. He was just as warm and just as bright. Sakuya knew his light wasn’t just a guide for the future, but something to comfort him now. Maybe he was the Sun in Sakuya’s life, and he wouldn’t mind orbiting Riku like this.

Even with the Sun still high in the sky, Sakuya thought about the stars, and how they may have been the ones to guide Riku to him. 

──────────────────

One normal afternoon with the merciless sun, weeks after their talk, Riku tapped Sakuya’s shoulder with an uncharacteristic hesitance. Sakuya turned around to face him mid-chew of his taiyaki. The warm air that lay still around them, much like Riku’s contained breath, was a sign that so much time had passed since their fateful meeting. The lack of a breeze could have been the cause for the sweat beads that rolled down Riku’s neck, but Sakuya ruled against that thought.

“So, Saku-chan,” Riku began. His hands were tapping incessantly on his thighs, and his back was straight against the bench. Sakuya held in his snort because of how unnatural his senpai was acting.

“You’re so tense, Riku-senpai,” Sakuya offered him a smile. “What is it?”

Riku sharply exhaled. “I know I brought it up before…and I can feel that you don’t have a problem…? Or have I been reading this wrong—”

“Is this about Daeyoung-senpai?”

Riku nodded. “Yeah.”

Sakuya put his hand over Riku’s to stop them from tapping. “I don’t have a problem with him, senpai.”

Riku blinked. “Right. Yes. That’s good. Um. Do you…want to hang out with us sometime? Like it doesn’t have to be now, but another time when we’re all free.”

Wow, Sakuya never thought that his senpai would ever ask. Honestly, his friendship with Riku has been such a dream come true for him so far; he felt understood on a different level by someone else. Not like that of his family, and not like that of his classmates. It felt like someone was seeing his soul through the cage of his heart and spelling it out for him. Though he was his kouhai, Riku never treated him like he was below him. He felt like an equal, seen for who he is. At this point, whatever Riku asked of him, Sakuya would follow him no questions asked. There was nothing his senpai would want from him that he wouldn’t want as well.

“Sure, senpai. I’d love that!” Sakuya couldn’t help the grin that spilled out through his lips. “I’ve never gone on an outing like that ever.”

A breeze finally rustled through the leaves above them, and Riku finally took a breath.

“Where do you usually go, senpai?”

Riku finally let his back slump over. His elbows came to perch on the backrest of the bench. “Well, we don’t really plan stuff, y’know? Daeyoung and I are both a bit spontaneous. We have a favorite yakiniku spot though! It’s cheap and it’s delicious.”

“Ooh,” Sakuya nodded. “That sounds good.”

“Okay, I’ll tell Daeyoung.”

Sakuya watched Riku type away on his phone, watched him no doubt get side-tracked from telling Daeyoung the details, watched him smile and giggle with every notification. After a few moments, he looked up to watch the sky through the gaps of the leaves.

Daeyoung and Riku also understood each other on a different level. Sakuya hasn’t even met the other, but whenever Riku talks about him in conversation or calls him during break times, he could feel their undeniable warmth. There was an affection between them that remained alive and pulsing, even without being in each other’s presence constantly. Sure, Sakuya sometimes felt like he was stopping them from spending time with each other, but Riku hasn’t said anything about it yet.

“Daeyoung’s kinda busy this week. He asked if you can meet with us next Monday, Saku-chan,” Riku asked, his voice bringing Sakuya out of his thoughts.

“Sure. I got nowhere else to be.”

──────────────────

Next Monday came, and Sakuya was so glad he could finally catch a break. School was finally over, and he had a few weeks left to laze around and do whatever he wanted. But the first Monday of their summer break was dedicated to his first hangout with Riku and Daeyoung.

He got up extra early today, even though they were supposed to go out just before lunch time. He did his usual routine, but he took extra care with fixing his hair, and he made sure to really savor his toast. Every tick of the clock in their living room made his hands clammy, and he tried his best to wipe them on a towel instead of his pants.

He made a conscious effort to be quiet. Though his father was at work, his mother and sister were still resting in their rooms, and if his sister saw Sakuya, she’d poke fun at how he made an effort to dress up. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He was going on his first ever hangout, he was allowed to make an effort.

When Sakuya read the time on the clock, he sighed. It was still way too early. He plugged his phone in a nearby socket and decided to pass the time by watching content from his favorite idol group. He found out early on that Riku stanned them too, and they bonded over their biases and their self-produced content. One day, they said, they were going to watch them perform live if they returned to Japan.

In the middle of his fifth video, a notification popped up on Sakuya’s screen.

iku 🖤

saku-chan r u ready ?

daeyoung and i r gonna meet at school in like

5 mins

Sakuya stood up and checked his things once more. He typed a quick reply on his phone.

saku 🩷

im omw senpai

He barely registered the walk to school today. When he stepped onto the school premises, he looked up to find Riku wildly waving at him. Next to him was a much, much taller guy, with a timid smile on his face, politely waving at Sakuya. That must be Daeyoung-senpai.

The closer Sakuya got to the both of them, the more he noticed how Daeyoung towered over both of them. Everything about him screamed big, from the broadness of his shoulders to the length of his legs, even the span of his palms. Sakuya gulped, and he didn’t dare to look up and meet his eyes.

“Saku-chan! This is Daeyoung. Daeyoung, this is Saku-chan,” Riku smiled as he introduced them both to each other.

“Nice to meet you, Daeyoung-senpai,” Sakuya greeted him with a 90-degree bow. He allowed himself to sneak a glance just as Daeyoung reciprocated the bow.

“Nice to meet you too, Sakuya-chan. Oh—can I call you that?” Daeyoung replied. Contrary to his gigantic appearance, he had such a gentle voice that took Sakuya aback.

“Yes, senpai, I don’t mind.”

Daeyoung smiled, and his eyes folded into half-moons. Sakuya stared, feeling the tension drop from his shoulders. He felt himself smile back.

“Okay, let’s go?” Riku snuck his arm around Sakuya’s shoulders, and at the same time laced his fingers with Daeyoung’s.

The walk to the yakiniku spot was much shorter than Sakuya thought. Riku’s chatter filled the silence, but it did a great deal of slowing down his strides. Sakuya had no choice but to be slowed down by the arm Riku had around his shoulders, or hanging off his elbow. Whenever Sakuya stole glances at Daeyoung, he noticed him taking painfully small steps forward if only to match Riku’s pace. That was cute.

Actually, Daeyoung was unexpectedly loud. In Sakuya’s head, he had to have a chill vibe to him that matched well with his tree-like build, but in the end, he transformed as more of a puppy in his eyes. Whenever Riku joked, Daeyoung cracked up. Whenever Riku pointed out something on the street, Daeyoung always reacted enthusiastically. And even in those moments where Riku fell silent, Daeyoung did all the joking and talking for them. He even did his best to make sure Sakuya was in on his jokes, which Sakuya appreciated very much. He started enjoying Daeyoung’s company.

“Okay, we’re here!” Riku perked back up. He swept aside the cloth sign at the entrance, holding it open for both Daeyoung and Sakuya as they walked in.

Even just standing at the entrance, Sakuya was immediately overwhelmed. The clinking of glasses and careless chatter mingled with the smell of sizzling meat, and he took a breath to get used to it all. When all three of them were seated, Riku immediately began scanning through the menu. Daeyoung silently prepared each of their chopsticks, setting them on top of tissue piles that he also distributed beside them. Sakuya watched him reach over across the table to neatly place them for him. He offered his senpai a smile at the gesture.

“Since it’s your first time here, we should get our usual order,” Riku said while tapping away at the digital menu. “And then we can just add some stuff later if you wanna get more. Sound good?”

“Yeah,” Sakuya nodded, scanning the items Riku picked. He briefly saw the words “beef tongue” and “horumon”, and he pursed his lips.

“This one will be my treat,” Daeyoung spoke, already getting out his wallet. He tapped his card on the screen, and the beeping sound confirmed their order.

“Oho, Kim Daeyoung,” Riku teasingly smiled at him with a thumbs up. “Thanks.”

Sakuya laughed. Daeyoung was so nice. “Thank you, senpai.”

When Jaehee stood up to pick up their order a few moments later, Sakuya felt Riku nudge his foot below the table.

“How are you doing, Saku-chan?” Riku’s words were casual, but his big eyes were expectant, holding his gaze with a slight waver. “What’chu thinking?”

“I’m great, senpai. Daeyoung-senpai is a fun guy, surprisingly. I was so shocked by how tall he was at first! But he speaks so gently.”

Riku laughed. “Right? But for how tall he is, he’s probably the softest guy I’ve ever known.”

Just then, Daeyoung arrived at the table with a tray in his hands. “It’s here!”

“Oh wow, this looks so good,” Riku helped Jaehee set down the plates of meat, eyeing each slice.

Sakuya glanced at all of the plates, spotting some familiar cuts, but other plates made him gulp nervously. As he feared, they got beef tongue and some innards—tripe and heart, both meats that he most likely can’t handle. Now, Sakuya hadn’t exactly eaten with Riku before, not even for lunch breaks, and so his senpai basically doesn’t know that Sakuya is a picky eater. His allergies and low spice tolerance don’t help him, either. Some textures made him squeamish, even smells and flavors, and he could imagine that the meat was going to have that effect on him.

He snuck a peek at Daeyoung’s reaction to the meat, but he was sporting a similarly excited smile to Riku’s. And he was already grilling them too, meticulously flipping the slices on the grill, perfectly searing the meat. If Sakuya wasn’t so aware of the meat being tongue, the brown color and aroma would have been mouthwatering.

“Have you tried eating beef tongue, Sakuya-chan?” Daeyoung asked, plopping some of the cooked slices onto Riku’s plate first. Once Riku got his plate back, Daeyoung reached over for Sakuya’s plate.

“Thank you. And not yet, senpai…” Sakuya muttered as he received his plate with two slices of tongue. He stared at them as an uneasy knot grew in his stomach. Honestly, one couldn’t even tell that it was beef tongue, and the even searing combined with the smell should have been enough to whet his appetite. Instead, it was declining. Rapidly.

“Don’t worry, it’s really tasty,” Daeyoung said. “It’s very tender.”

I’m sure it is, since it's…tongue. Sakuya gingerly picked up a piece with wavering chopsticks. He lifted it, examining it from every angle. The firmness when he pressed down wasn’t letting him shake off the similarity with the muscle resting in his own mouth. The longer he hesitated, the more he felt the stares of both his senpais on him.

“Do you not like it?” Daeyoung asked. Sakuya looked up to see his lips setting into a thin line. Oh no.

“Ah— it’s okay, senpai! I’m just psyching myself up to eat it…”

Daeyoung let out a soft laugh. “I was like you once. When I first had yakiniku back at home, I didn’t wanna try the beef tongue either. It’s an intimidating texture. You really don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.”

Riku nodded next to Daeyoung, offering a small smile to soothe Sakuya. And now Sakuya felt a strong rush of guilt and shame flood his body from head to toe. It was strong enough to almost overpower the knot in his stomach. He lowered his head, unable to meet Daeyoung’s eyes. Daeyoung, who paid for this, and then worked so hard to grill it for him and Riku.

“But, look here,” Daeyoung said, reaching over to Sakuya’s plate. He raised the other piece of beef tongue. “I grilled it this way, where one side is crispy and the other side is still soft. That way, you can still get the tenderness of the meat while having it feel less like, you know, a tongue. When my dad grilled it for me this way, I started to like beef tongue. I think you will, too.”

Daeyoung placed the piece back down, and retreated back to his own seat. Sakuya could see what he had explained just now, how only one side had a crunch to it. The knot started to unravel itself.

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna eat it, but at least try just one piece, okay Saku-chan?” Riku coaxed.

Sakuya nodded at Riku, then at Daeyoung. Daeyoung only smiled, showing no signs that he was upset or mocking. When he saw that, the knot fully unfurled.

“Thank you for the food,” he levelled his voice. He closed his eyes, and with a short huff, he stuffed the beef tongue in his mouth.

He chewed, and chewed, and…oh wow that’s amazing. The texture was unexpectedly crunchy but also soft at the same time, and the beef flavor was slightly stronger. Nothing about it made him squeamish at all. He really liked it.

“It’s good!” he said with wide eyes, and Daeyoung laughed.

“Ah, so cute,” Daeyoung sighed. He finally took a seat after grilling all of the beef tongue slices. “You should try it now with some lemon. It complements the flavor.”

He handed him a lemon slice. Sakuya generously squeezed the lemon juice the another piece and hurriedly stuffed it in his mouth. The sour lemon made the salty beef flavor shine through even more. He was quickly becoming a fan of beef tongue.

“Woah, this is so good,” Sakuya remarked through a mouthful of meat.

“Right?” Daeyoung smiled before promptly munching on a meat slice himself. “We have to eat this first every time we eat yakiniku; the grill is clean, so the beef flavor and texture of the tongue really shines through.”

“Ohh,” Riku and Sakuya nodded in unison.

“That’s so interesting,” Sakuya said, and he genuinely meant it. It was cool that Daeyoung was knowledgeable about these stuff, considering he’s from Korea.

He watched his senpai continue to grill meat. Daeyoung still had that soft smile on his face, and Sakuya felt his lips turn up too. He never got mad at Sakuya for struggling to eat earlier, but he decided to encourage him instead. He liked Daeyoung, he was so kind and sweet to everyone, it seemed.

He continued to scarf down the meat slices on his plate, a complete contrast to his reluctance earlier. In his enjoyment, he failed to notice Riku and Daeyoung smiling at him as he wolfed down the meat slices on his plate.

“Uwa, you’re seriously so cute,” Riku laughed as he watched Sakuya munch away while Daeyoung silently refilled their kouhai’s plate with more grilled slices. “Slow down, we have more meat coming later.”

They ate lots of marinated beef, and some pork belly, and some more beef tongue at Sakuya’s surprising request. His senpais kept piling the grilled meat on his plate, only stopping when Sakuya complained that they should help themselves first. Once they were all full and rubbing their bellies, Sakuya grabbed the plate of unused lemon slices and began chewing on them, to both Riku and Daeyoung’s amazement. And all the while, they shared nonsensical chatter and bubbling laughter. Sakuya’s heart grew lighter in his chest by the second, and the longer he watched his two senpais exchanging happy giggles and fond glances, he found himself thinking that he was exactly where he wanted to be.

──────────────────

“It’s so hot outside,” Riku whined as soon as they stepped out of the restaurant. Sakuya started fanning himself with his hand, and he snorted when he saw Daeyoung bringing out a portable fan from his bag just to point it at Riku. Riku was thoroughly wiping at his drenched neck and forehead with a towel.

“Do you wanna go anywhere, senpai?” Sakuya asked. A popsicle sounded really good right now, maybe they could get some GariGari-kun.

“Let’s just go anywhere where there’s aircon for a while, and then we can leave when the sun goes down.” Daeyoung suggested. Riku made a lazy noise to acknowledge him. Right, that sounded even better.

With the June sun bearing down on their beings, they decided to hit the nearby mall.

The moment the cool air hit their sweaty skin, they all let out a sigh. They walked to a nearby bench and sat down enjoying the aircon blowing air overhead. Sakuya glanced around their surroundings while his two senpais were leaned back with closed eyes. Come to think of it, this was his first time going to this mall with anyone that isn’t his family. When he did go, he was always dragged everywhere for shopping, only there to carry the bags of heavy groceries and trinkets that his mother and sister would buy. He never did enjoy going to the mall; he thought that buying things for himself would make things harder for both his mother and him, even if he really wanted something.

“Nothing beats free aircon,” Riku grinned. “What’chu guys wanna do now?”

“Give me a few minutes, I wanna enjoy the aircon more. We could just walk around later.”

“Okay, Daeyoung-ah!”

A few moments passed, and they were roaming around the mall. They avoided the parts with long rows of restaurants because Sakuya complained that they just ate and he didn’t want to get hungry again. They wandered through stores with accessories or clothes, before leaving right away because the prices were too much. It was nice to shop like this, Sakuya thought, without his arms weighed down by bulky bags. Just him and his friends, trying on silly things together, leaving their memories with the clothes that they put back on the hangers.

“Oh, you should try this one Saku-chan!” Riku held up a pair of barrel jeans, bedazzled with flashy bleached stars and rhinestones. Wow, exactly my style.

“I won’t try it on, senpai, I can just hold it up,” he said. He took the jeans from Riku and held them up against his legs. When he checked his reflection, he knew he was screwed. He really liked how the jeans looked, and they seemed to fit him perfectly around his waist and thighs. Each passing second made it more impossible for him to prepare to let go of those jeans.

“Woah, that suits you so well Sakuya-chan!” Daeyoung cheered next to him. “It’s exactly your style.”

“Right?” Sakuya smiled. “I wonder how much this costs…”

He flipped the tag hanging on the belt loop. 15,000 yen?! Even Daeyoung gasped dramatically when he saw it.

Sakuya heard his heart break inside him. With pursed lips, he returned the jeans to the hanging rack. He allowed himself a few more beats to let his hand linger on them one last time. And then he walked away.

As they walked out of the store with empty arms, Riku hummed. “You know, we could just make those jeans. You could even choose the design, and stuff.”

Sakuya let out a tiny ‘ooo’. Daeyoung’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands once. “Right! There are so many bleach art tutorials for jeans online. And we can order the gems online.”

“Yeah. We could thrift some jeans that I bet would fit just as good as those ones.”

“Oh, that sounds nice, senpai! You’re right,” Sakuya nodded. His heart was back in one piece, no doubt.

They silently walked around once more at a leisurely pace. The sun was still a bit high in the sky, and so they savored the moment a while longer. Just then, they heard dissonant sounds. Like those from piano keys being clicked together in an aimless chord. They stopped in their tracks. Just ahead, there were kids jumping and running around on a floor piano in the center of the walkway.

“That looks so fun,” Daeyoung said in awe. The sparkle in his eyes was impossible to ignore. “Do you guys wanna do that?”

“I wanna do it!” Sakuya’s own eyes mirrored his senpai’s excitement.

They both ran to the floor piano. Riku brought out his phone. “Wait for me!”

At the floor piano, Sakuya had no idea where to start. His eyes frantically wandered everywhere, scanning the floor piano, and then he turned to Daeyoung. Without a word, Daeyoung grabbed his hand and gently pulled him over to one of the keys.

“Do you know ‘Heart and Soul’?” Daeyoung asked, still holding his hand. Warm.

“Yup, I know a little bit.”

“Good! Just follow my lead first, and then we can play the left and right hand together later.”

Daeyoung stepped on the first key. For the rest of the sequence, he effortlessly jumped and flitted between keys, impressively keeping the tempo of the original song. When he finished, Sakuya couldn’t help but applaud him. In return, he received a bashful laugh and smile from Daeyoung.

“Do you remember all of that?”

Sakuya nodded.

“Okay, I’ll do the left hand now. We start on my count.”

They both positioned themselves. “Ready? Se—noh!”

And so they played. As Riku recorded them from somewhere nearby, he found himself smiling wide at them. Sakuya’s clumsy rhythm and Daeyoung’s impeccable execution were so endearing, especially the matching smiles and laughs that escaped from both of them. Riku looked at his kouhai through his phone’s screen, and he was overcome with a surge of pure happiness. Sakuya was that to him. A little ball of happiness that somehow rolled into his life, and blessed him and Daeyoung with love that keeps on giving.

In the video, Sakuya asked for one more try through giggles. Daeyoung started another countdown. And they played again.