"I have a venti ultra caramel frappuccino for Fuchizaki-sama," the barista boredly called out to the busy cafe. Yukine took out one earbud as she perked up and silently picked up her order from the counter then headed back to her seat, already slipping her headphones back in as she started to scribble once more in the notebook in front of her. She took a sip, reveling in the intense sweet flavor of her drink while music flooded her ears.
Yukine had come to Starbucks to get some work done - making music for people in the entertainment industry to sing and perform - hoping to take inspiration from the bustling city around her. It was her way of motivating herself for the freelance gigs she picked up every now and then when she had time to spare from her main job.
She looked up from her work to realize the cafe was beginning to get crowded. Yukine wasn't fond of being out in public outside of work settings. More people around meant more chances for people to end up talking to her and that always made her extremely anxious. There was a reason she worked either from home or on a stage where no one could interact with her. Still, sometimes she had to get out of there and inspiration was as good a reason as any. She worked for a little while longer before deciding to head home to continue her work; she was set to get at least something down by the end of the night.
She'd been tapping out a new composition for her latest client - some new pop star group rising up in fame who wanted an upbeat single for the charts - while walking when a man staring down at his cell phone walked into her. She stumbled and glared at the man, who had decided to start reprimanding her for getting in the way of an important person such as himself. Ugh, salarymen, she thought as she reached for something in her pocket and folded her arms to wait out this stranger's tirade.
"-You need to realize some of us work hard and deserve your respect. Now what do you have to say for yourself?" he finished, looking at her expectantly. Yukine rolled her eyes, but mouthed a silent "I'm sorry" before bowing politely. Maybe this ass will be satisfied with that and just go on his way, she hoped. Unfortunately, it seemed he was bent on embarrassing her.
"Excuse you, but you should speak loudly and clearly when you are apologizing to a superior. Try again!" the man barked.
Oh, now she was mad. Yukine scowled and stomped up to the man, shoving the small notebook she'd taken out of her pocket in his face.
"Sorry, but I am mute," the page said in nice, big print. She quickly retracted the notebook from his embarrassed face to quickly write out another quick comment on the next page before shoving it in his face again, "Also, I'm not sorry. You were the one who wasn't watching where you were going, Rude-san."
Yukine quickly spun on her heel and marched away from the sputtering man before he could continue his chastisement. She reminded herself that interacting with strangers like that man were exactly why she kept her night owl lifestyle and didn't often leave her apartment. Luckily, the walk home was short and she managed to avoid another frustrating encounter.
Yukine let herself into her apartment and moved quickly to hunker down in the extra room that served as her makeshift studio, hands idly moving across the keys of her electric piano as her computer started up. She worked diligently on the string of inspiration the man had rudely interrupted, fixating on the slowly-forming melody her hands played over and over on the keyboard.
With a sigh, Yukine stretched and stood up a several hours later, joints popping as she raised her hands above her head. With a glance at the clock and a quick look at the window, she decided to call it a night from work. Moving into her room, she quickly flipped on the radio and flopped down in bed, grabbing a pillow and snuggling into it as she lazily kicked her legs back and forth as they dangled off the side. The radio blasted a lively song that made Yukine smile.
"GOOOOOOOD EVENING, LISTENERS! GO AHEAD AND PUT YOUR HANDS UP FOR THAT LATEST ROUND OF SONGS! WE HAVE A LONG NIGHT AHEAD OF US, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT HAS TO BE BORING! FEEL FREE TO CALL IN AND MAKE REQUESTS TO YOUR FAVORITE DJ WHILE WE GET STARTED ON THIS NEXT SET! FIRST UP WE HAVE..."
Yukine silently chuckled to herself at the loud, energetic man speaking through her radio, and she thought back to the prior weekend. Honestly, she'd never meant to make a move on him; she had just found it incredibly amusing to hear a very clear and obvious shout from the dressed-down man that made him impossible to ignore even from across the dance floor. She was perfectly content watching from afar considering he seemed like the chatty type, and a club seemed like the worst possible place to admit her disability. But when she saw him scanning the crowd and his eyes widen upon catching hers, she quickly took out her notebook to scrawl out a simple message - while keeping eye contact, she'd gotten pretty impressive at writing notes without looking or on the fly by this point in her life - before ripping the note out to slide it safely into the tight space between her wrist and her bracelet and making her way over to him.
Yukine smiled gently at the memory of his stunned silent expression before picking up her phone to scroll through the internet. More announcements were made by the loud DJ and more music pumped out of the radio as she lost herself in her Friday night ritual, making mental notes of songs she might be interested in playing or remixing in the future. It was a couple hours later, at midnight exactly, when Present Mic took over once again, but something in his voice caught Yukine's attention.
"Alright listeners, we have a dedication here for A Real Livewire from someone simply known as Hero! He says he can't stop thinking about your eyes and all he asks is for this little Livewire to call into the station and give us her name so her Hero can find her! ISN'T THAT SWEET, LISTENERS?! Now the song being dedicated is a little softer than our normal stuff here at PUT YOUR HANDS UP RADIO, but I think such a sweet request can be accommodated! Here you go, Livewire. Your hero's waiting!"
A simple, wistful piano melody floated out from her radio as Yukine's phone dropped from her hand. She stared at her radio, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in shock.
«Didn't even really wanna go
But if you get me out, you get a show
There's so many bodies on the floor, so
Baby, we should go and add some more
Are you down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?
Down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?»
He wasn't. He wouldn't. He was...he was calling her out - trying to find her! He wanted her to call in. Yukine couldn't believe it. She tried convincing herself she was being delusional and reading too much into things.
«Everywhere I look are peoples' hands
Thrown up in the air to help them dance
Come on, baby, catch me if you can, I
Know you don't have any other plans
Are you down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?
Down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?»
At the mention of hands, she was thrown back into that night. She had used her quirk to pull the bass line from one of the speakers to tease the pro hero/DJ as she danced with him. She knew it was illegal to do, but her work license technically allowed her to use her quirk in clubs and other work venues. It was a stretch, but the way he looked at her had been worth it. She had found herself enthralled by how visibly he reacted to the music pulsing directly against his skin and he seemed to even enjoy the slightly rough quality of her hands thanks to the mesh that comprised her palm-speakers.
She wondered if he had been thinking about her hands when he chose the song when the melody shifted away from the piano and into a bass drop as it progressed into the rather simple chorus. Did he know she'd be listening to his radio show? She outed herself as knowing who he was with the note, but how did he know she was a listener of his show? He really is making a bold leap on few facts here, Yukine mused to herself.
«You know we could put them all to shame
Now isn't the time to play it safe
Isn't this the reason that you came, so
Baby, don't you let it go to waste
Are you down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?
Down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?»
As she listened to the song, she stared at her phone. She wished she could call in and just tell him her name, but her quirk left her voiceless. Her brows furrowed and a small sigh escaped her. He wasn't supposed to be looking for her. That hadn't been the plan.
«Every single thing is feeling right
Started as a quiet Friday night
I don't really think that we should fight this
What if we don't stop until it's light?
Are you down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?
Are you down, d-d-down, d-d-down, d-d-down, down, down?»
Yukine had never meant for anything to come of her decision to dance with and tease the hero. She'd merely made an impulsive move fueled by desire and her intrinsically bold attitude. Regret danced across her features as she put her phone down and pointedly ignored it, choosing instead to finally shed her clothes and settle in to sleep. It was better to keep the moment they'd had untainted by attempting any further contact. Someone as chatty as Present Mic wouldn't want to be around someone who couldn't even converse with him. Still, she smiled as the song came to an end and she quickly began drifting off to sleep.
If only I could just run into you at a club again, Present Mic. Not have to worry about you finding out about my voice. I'd be down for that...
Author's Note: Alright! So I have done a lot of research on mutism in order to convey things as properly as possible and what I've learned is there is not a whole lot of information out there on anything outside of selective mutism! So I'm working as hard as I can to be as respectful as possible in terms of conveying a character with this disability and I encourage anyone who has knowledge on it to contact me so I can do better!
The next chapter has two different versions currently written. One that involves resolving that unresolved sexual tension from the first chapter and a version that involves prolonging it. I'm not entirely sure which one to use yet. Any preferences?
P.S. - does the spacing look as cramped to y'all as it does to me? I feel like the chapter needs more space between the lines, but maybe that's just me?