A/N: What exactly happened between Takeda and Ukai just before Kageyama arrived at the hotel room in chapter 26.
Drops - 02
-❤- Valse Sentimentale -❤-
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Of course he was nervous. Who wouldn't be if they were going to see a precious person they hadn't encountered in nearly five years? Takeda was absolutely terrified.
Did Ukai even want to see him? If he did, surely he would've told Takeda he was in town, instead of him having to find out from the concertmaster. Why hadn't he told him? Takeda had barged right over to his hotel without pausing to think—but what did he want to say, exactly?
He paused to think with his fist inches from the door, chewing on his lower lip. 'Why the hell didn't you contact me?' was the most pertinent question on his mind, but Takeda himself hadn't exactly moved mountains to speak to Ukai. The past five years had gone by with both of them on their own path, destined to go in separate directions. It wasn't surprising.
But… if that were true, then why did his chest feel so tight?
Takeda's fist wavered. Maybe I should just turn back… Keishin doesn't have to know I came at all. He turned around. Yes, that's what I'll do; I'll just go. Staying would make a mess of things, and—
"Ittetsu?"
Takeda stopped, feeling his heart in his throat. He told himself to make a run for it, but the sound of Ukai's voice after so long apart made his knees weak. He was leaning against the doorway, looking almost exactly the same as he had the last time they spoke ten years before. The unruly blond hair, the ever-present cigarette, the stupid headband: he really hadn't changed at all.
"Keishin…" Takeda couldn't keep his voice from breaking. "Why didn't you tell me you were in town?"
As always, Ukai panicked as soon as he started to cry. "H-hey, please don't cry! I m-meant to tell you— I'm sorry!" He reached toward him, hesitating for too long before grabbing his shoulders. "Come on, let's talk inside, after you've calmed down."
Takeda didn't want to calm down. He didn't want to be and adult and go talk with him. He just wanted to cry and be childish and angry. He wanted to blame him for everything, even though he was the one who had refused to work with him when Ukai offered. He was the one who had never made an effort to talk to him—had never even gone to see one of his concerts. In the end, they were both at fault.
He swallowed his pride and followed Ukai inside.
Once they were sitting face to face on opposite beds, everything Takeda had wanted to say left his head. All he could do was stare at his shoes and wonder why the hell he had even come if he wasn't going to say anything.
"So…" Ukai cleared his throat. "I didn't tell you because, well… things ended so awkwardly between us. You never tried to get back in touch, so I assumed you didn't want to see me." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I saw you at that competition, but I was too afraid to approach you… I was hoping you wouldn't find out I was here at all."
Takeda's resolve snapped. "Are you kidding?! You never reached out to me, either! You were the one who moved away, so I assumed you would try to contact me ." He flushed, lowering his voice a bit. "I— I mean… of course I wanted to see you. How could I not?"
"You did?" Ukai covered his face. "I feel so stupid now… not talking to you for five years because of a damn misunderstanding. Were we both just holding grudges this whole time?"
"It's probably my fault," Takeda admitted, his fingers tightening against the bedsheets. "I know I denied the offer to form the orchestra with you, but… I really didn't want you to go, and I just didn't have the courage to say it." He laughed lightly. "Besides, how could I ever ask that? For you to choose me instead? It would've been selfish and stupid."
"You really felt that way?" Ukai bridged the gap and firmly grabbed his hand. "You should've said something! I would've figured something out!"
"And give up on your dream?" Takeda shook his head. "Are you crazy?" They were meeting for the first time in years, and all he could do was argue. "You had this brightness about you when you talked about your plans; your future was all planned out already. I didn't want to be a burden to you."
"You're the crazy one!" Ukai snapped. He grabbed both of Takeda's hands, startling him with the sheer intensity of his actions. "Forming an orchestra might've been one of my dreams, but it sure as hell wasn't the most important one!" He surged forward, catching Takeda in a hug that sent them both careening onto the bed.
"What are you saying?" Takeda stammered, fingers clutching at his back. "Hey, you're crushing me—"
Ukai cut him off with a kiss, and it was so familiar and warm and safe that Takeda couldn't help but go limp. That was what their youth had been like: hours of practicing and studying, living for moments where they could belong only to each other and forget everything else. Late-night meetings under the stars, secret rendezvous in Ukai's dorm room—a secret that wasn't really all that secret.
"Do you get it?" Ukai breathes, finally breaking the kiss. "You're more important than that damn orchestra. I would've picked you , Ittetsu, in a heartbeat." He groaned, burying his face in Takeda's neck with a frustrated laugh. "Dammit, why didn't you say anything?"
"Idiot…" Takeda covered his face. "How can you say it like that? You would choose me in a heartbeat…" Even his toes were probably going red.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ukai blinked in confusion. "Because I love you. Duh. I told you that before, remember?"
"Y-Yeah…" Takeda bit his lip. "You know, this— this is all just a bit too overwhelming after five whole years. I don't know what I'm supposed to be thinking right now."
"Then don't think." Ukai grumbled—always the simple type. "Five years is a lot of time to make up for: I say we start right now."
"Wha—" Takeda's words were interrupted by a rougher kiss. He was too weak to push Ukai away—or rather, he didn't want to. Damn, hereally didn't want to… The feeling of being with him was so warm and familiar. Takeda felt like his very core was melting. Five years… he hasn't realized how much he'd missed it in all that time.
Ukai moved to pop the top buttons of his shirt, kissing Takeda's throat. He squirmed, breathing in short gasps. "H-hey, Keis— W-wait a minute…"
"Can't." Ukai's fingers were in Takeda's hair, ruining his capability to think rationally. He was pulling at more buttons, but he couldn't get them undone. "Dammit, this shirt—"
A knock came at the door halfway through his sentence, scaring them both half to death. Takeda accidentally elbowed Ukai in the face, kicking his way across the bed to reach the door. Any excuse to get away before his heart exploded out of his chest.
Five years wasn't nearly long enough to kill the love rooted in his heart.
