1. Apartment
They're still young, still fearless and daring when Toudou asks him to move in with him.
He wonders why he said yes.
2. Luck
Maybe it was pure luck that he'd met Toudou. Maybe it was pure coincidence.
Either way, he'd already resigned himself to yet another year of crippling jubilation.
3. Rust
There's a helpless twinge in his chest when he sees rust creeping on the underside of his bike; the decrepit paint curling off in scribbles. "We're growing old", he tells Toudou one day.
"What can we do about it?" Toudou replies.
4. Humble
Toudou is anything but.
5. Careless
Toudou's huff of annoyance goes ignored as Makishima flips through his fashion magazine, drafting pen spinning silver in his hands. "Maki-chan, "Toudou starts, indignant. "I thought you said you put them in a secure place."
"I did." Makishima says. "You just don't understand."
"How is the grill a secure place to put our mortgage papers?!"
6. Easy
"It'll be easy," Toudou promises, hands rubbing comfortably on his shoulders. "Like riding a bike, only better."
The motorcycle purrs under his shaking hands, incandescent paint flashing crimson.
7. Poetry
Toudou loves poetry.
"Must be why you talk so weird," Makishima remarks.
8. Concept
"It's a metaphor, Maki-chan." Toudou smiles at him, straddling his hips. "Don't you get the concept?"
9. Equivalent
"You're equivalent to five voice boxes alone." Makishima scoffs, covering the phone receiver. "I'm on a business call, can't you be quiet for one minute?"
Needless to say, Toudou yanks the phone out of his hand and jabs the end button, tackling him with a ferocity unmatched as they both tumble out of his chair.
10. Fairytale
"Kiss me awake, Maki-chan, "Toudou mumbles half-asleep, curling his toes around Makishima's and pressing flush against his chest. "I'm sleeping beauty, remember?"
11. Headphones
Toudou buys him headphones for his birthday and looks him in the eye. "I love you, Maki-chan, but your taste in music is atrocious."
12. First
"Yuuske."
13. Observer
To an outsider, they must've looked like the most mismatched pair in the world.
14. Collide
Their collisions are nothing short of breathless.
15. Projection
Makishima can't smile.
"Project more!" Toudou had said, talking through a stiff smile of his own. "You're overcompensating, relax!"
"How quixotic," Makishima had sighed. "It'll never work."
Well, he guess it had.
16. Beaten
You know you've fallen hard when even the merest smile makes your heart jolt.
17. Electrode
Toudou's eyes remind Makishima of electricity.
18. Mirror
"You look in the mirror too much," he grumbles as Toudou puts his headband on.
"And you don't look enough, Maki-chan."
19. Calling
Toudou's calls are 90% of his call log. "People think you're my only friend," Makishima complains.
"I'm not?" Toudou seems genuinely surprised.
20. Travel
"Sometimes I imagine that we'll go on some kind of grandiose adventure, just the two of us." Toudou muses out loud.
21. Screamer
Makishima wants to yell, scream until his lungs burst and there's no more air to breathe-because sometimes Toudou is so frustrating he wonders why he even stays with him.
22. Diva
"Maki-chan, we have to go to the mall now."
"Toudou, it's just-"
"You don't understand."
23. Bleakness
Sometimes Makishima wonders how bleak his life would be without Toudou.
It's a crippling thought.
24. Daydreamer
Toudou tells him that sometimes in class, he just stares out the window and thinks of him.
"Shouldn't you be more worried about your grades?" Makishima splutters.
25. Contamination
"You're so stupid." Makishima holds Toudou's hair back as he retches over the toilet. "I told you that milk was expired."
Toudou groans, clutching his stomach.
26. Accidental
Maybe their first time would be considered accidental; but Toudou's lips definitely weren't.
27. Contradiction
"You're so contradicting, Maki-chan," Toudou sighs against his lips, slim hands on his chest, thin legs straddling his hips. "I don't even know anymore."
28. Perfect
As much as he hates to admit it, Toudou is probably the closest to perfect he's ever seen.
29. Dusk
They usually walked together after their races, the sky a scribble of warm orange and discursive yellows, clouds scattered harpazdly over their heads.
30. Solid
Sometimes Toudou looks at him, brushes his cheek, as if checking that he really does exist.
31. Martyr
Living with Toudou is living healthy, Makishima groans, wishing he could have at least one popsicle without him blowing up.
"One day, you'll get martyred," Makishima warns him. "And believe me, I'm not going to save you."
32. Harmless
Toudou's smile terrifies him. It's stunning in half light, the dark angles throwing themselves into high definition, the ideal vision of conventional beauty.
33. Puzzle
Why did Toudou even put up with him.
34. Help
"Maki-chan, I'm failing english again."
"How."
35. Automatic
"Cars these days are great," Toudou remarks, turning his head to grin at Makishima. "They're all automatic!"
"TOUDOU, WATCH OUT"
36. Concussion
"Who would've thought," Makishima sighed, "that you wouldn't get your first concussion from a bicycle?"
37. Thank you
He wouldnt've given up these years for anything.