Toya sat himself down at a booth in a café. Akito's shift at the fashion outlet had just started, so Toya had decided to head to the arcade to kill some time—after he got his daily dose of caffeine. This wouldn't have been his first choice for a café (obviously that would've been Weekend Garage) but it was conveniently close to the arcade. While waiting for a server, Toya pulled out his phone to just mindlessly scroll through social media.

A few moments later, the door to the café swung open. Toya didn't pay it much mind until the person who just walked in strode up to his booth. "Oh, hey, Toya! What a coincidence finding you here! I was just passing by and thought I might grab a quick drink before heading home. Mind if I sit here with you?"

At that, Toya looked up and found Shota Hayashi, Akito's soccer teammate from elementary school. "Oh, hello, Shota. Sure, we can sit together." He set his phone aside as Shota plopped down across from him. "So how are things with you?"

"They've been great!" Shota said, drumming his fingers excitedly on the table. "I'm so happy that the Shibuya Summer Festival last week went off without a hitch! You guys were a great hit! We've heard from so many people who specifically mentioned your duo act as a highlight. And you really said you weren't well-versed in dancing before this?"

"No, we've never done anything like this before. That week before the festival, we had to really practice non-stop to get our routine down to where we were satisfied. But it was a good experience to try something new. Thank you for the opportunity."

"Oh, I should be the one thanking you! I was so glad you were able to sub in on such short notice. In fact, I don't think I got a chance to properly thank the two of you; the end of the festival was a blur. Say, is Akito here with you?"

"No, he's working today, but I can pass your thanks along to him," Toya said. A flicker of some kind expression passed through Shota's face for a moment, too quick for Toya to fully catch. Surprise? Disappointment?

But it was gone as soon as it started, replaced by his original bubbly expression. "I guess I can't be too surprised. He always was a hard worker—in soccer, in dancing, and now at his job, he's always exuded cool."

Toya wasn't quite sure of that connection between working hard and being cool. Perhaps it was because of his own upbringing where hard work was supposed to be a ticket into sophistication and the stifling world of classical music, rather than something with more "cool" vibes. …Well, not that the Vivid Bad Squad didn't also work hard, despite what his dad believed. But that was different; the hard work was just kind of fun. Then again, Akito having fun while working hard was probably exactly what Shota was referring to.

But before he could figure out how to condense all that into an appropriate response, a server came up to them and asked for their order.

"Say," Shota said, "why don't I pay for you today? This'll be my way of thanking you for agreeing to perform at the festival." Toya tried to protest, but Shota wouldn't take no for an answer. Acquiescing, Toya ordered a black coffee and Shota got a fruit smoothie.

As the server went into the back to prepare the order, Shota turned back to Toya. "I actually never knew Akito sang until I saw him at that live show that I caught you two at. When did you meet him? Had he already started singing before then?"

Toya nodded. "It was sometime early in junior high that he had decided to pursue music as a serious hobby. I met him only a little bit after that, and we ultimately decided to team up as the BAD DOGS."

"I wish I could've seen him back then. It would've been real cool to see him grow into this ball of raw talent that he is now. On the soccer team in elementary school, he always made everything look so effortless—running up and down the field, dribbling and passing the ball, and of course, scoring goals. But of course you just know that behind that apparent effortlessness was a ton of practice and training, whether that's his focused concentration during team practice or doing training drills on his own long after everyone else has gone home. I can only assume he's the same way with singing."

Toya nodded. "Yes, he definitely is. If he's going to do something, he's going to do everything he can to do it right."

At that, Shota smiled broadly. "I know, right? That's exactly how I remember him! I'd missed that sort of intensity about him, and I'm so glad to have seen him shine again the last couple weeks. Back at the end of elementary school, when he told me he was quitting soccer—that was a surprise emotional punch to the gut. I was dreading the transition from elementary to junior high school, but soccer and Akito in particular were supposed to be something that stayed constant for me across the change…" Shota looked away wistfully. "I did continue to play soccer for the first couple months, but it really just wasn't the same without the ace of our team, and I quit soccer shortly thereafter, too."

Toya smiled softly. "He was that important to you?"

Shota's face started turning red. "W—Well, yeah, but like, you should've seen him back then. Always looking strong and cool, always looking out for the rest of the team, always trying to make up for where we all fell short. He always seemed like the perfect team member. I mean, you would know, wouldn't you? You two are together all the time now, so you would still see this side of him when you get to perform. N—not to say that you aren't as good and you need him to carry your team! You're great too! But I just mean, like, Akito is still particularly impressive—you get me, right…? Um… oh, look, I think those are our drinks."

Indeed, to Shota's visible relief, the server was just arriving with the coffee and the smoothie. The two of them fell silent as the server placed down their drinks and they took their initial sips.

Breaking the silence, Shota asked, "So how's your coffee?"

Toya blinked. "Oh, um, it's fine. And how's your fruit smoothie?"

"It's nice," Shota said. "Can't go wrong with a cold drink on a hot summer day. I do think the sweet drinks at this place are better than their coffee."

"Mm, I'm personally not a huge fan of sweet things." After all that open conversation about Akito, they had very suddenly regressed back to small talk. Shota probably hadn't meant to go into quite as much detail about his past with Akito—after all, he and Toya were still almost strangers; their interactions so far were largely focused on the logistics of the festival. So it probably would be polite for Toya to not prod too much. But it felt like there was something Shota wasn't saying about the situation. So despite himself, Toya found himself saying, "So back to what we were talking about earlier…"

"Yeah, sorry, the conversation went places I was not expecting," Shota said. "And really, it all turned out okay in the end. My older brother noticed I was really out of sorts after I quit soccer, and suggested that I tag along with him in doing backstage planning- and production-type things, and that's been what I picked up as a hobby ever since. That's how I ended up as a part of the Summer Festival planning committee this year. It's interesting how that ended up coming full circle and let me find Akito again in the course of my scouting."

Shota stopped himself suddenly and gave a quiet groan. "Ugh, I keep bringing this conversation back to Akito, don't I? Sorry, I can't seem to help it." He put down his drink and took a deep breath. "There is one detail that I haven't mentioned yet. You know how I said I was having such a miserable time on the junior high soccer team? It's because Akito wasn't there. Er… I said that already. But I mean, there were plenty of other people on our elementary school team, too, so why was it specifically Akito? Sure, he was clearly the best player on the team and all that, but it wasn't just that. I only realized it a little later, but the real reason was that… well, I think I had a crush on him."

Oh.

That put into context why Shota had been so flustered talking about this—this was his former crush he was talking about. But instead of a sense of relief from understanding the situation, Toya felt an odd sort of tension building in his body. "So…" he said slowly, "when you were scouting at the live show for the Summer Festival, you saw your childhood crush and you knew you had to choose him for the festival just so that you would be able to spend more time with him." That came out a bit more accusatory than he had meant it to be, but he said what he said.

"No, of course it wasn't that!" Shota immediately said back. "You two were the best act that day at the live show. And if you've heard the buzz around the town after the Summer Festival, you've heard that so much of it is about how incredible the last amateur performance was; the audience reaction proves just how much you guys really were a good pick." Here, Shota paused and leaned back against the seat, sighing. "…But, well, if I'm being truly honest with myself, can I really say that you're completely wrong? When I saw him on stage again that night, glowing spotlight shining on him, working the crowd's excitement, holding the audience's attention captive in the palm of his hand…" Shota shook his head. "Look, anyway, as it turns out, it doesn't matter. After all, he's already taken, isn't he?"

…Wait, what? Akito was dating someone? Who? Toya wasn't quite sure how to process that. Should he be surprised that Akito would someone be able to keep this a secret from his own partner? Betrayed, because Akito was keeping such a big secret from him? Angry, because… because… why was he feeling angry?

But oblivious to Toya's internal train of thought, Shota continued, "That's probably for the best anyway. As you said, this was a childhood crush, really not healthy to dwell on, so it's good that he's not even available for me to consider. So hey, congrats to you. All this praise I've been giving him—his cool demeanor, his strong take-charge attitude, his intensity and passion towards what he loves doing—he's all yours now."

Mine? thought Toya. He stared at Shota with his mouth open for a moment longer.

Seeing Toya's expression, Shota's face started reddening again. "Oh. Oh no, was that another faux pas? You two… are together, aren't you? Like, romantically? I wasn't sure at first when I saw you performing at that live show, but over the week I've seen how intimate you are with each other. Did I read that wrong?"

Toya was still too caught off-guard to form a coherent response. "Um… yeah, we're not—I'm not—I mean, we've never…" But he paused here a moment to let his brain catch up. "I mean, we've never said so explicitly." They were partners, of course, so of course they'd spend a lot of time together, but was their relationship defined by more than that? Was that why he was feeling this funny sort of way as Shota described Akito? Was this jealousy of another person wanting to be so close to Akito?

By this point, both Shota and Toya's faces were completely flushed with embarrassment. "Well… um…" said Shota, "I hope I didn't just make this awkward. Please forget I said anything. That'll teach me not to jump to weird conclusions like this."

"No, no, you're fine. This… might be something I need to talk to him about later. I had never thought about this."

"Oh. Um, well… good luck with that…? He's a good man—as I think we both agree." He took another sip of his smoothie, the drink now basically done. "Well… before I put my foot in my mouth any more than I have, I think I should get going. I have some stuff I need to catch up on after putting everything on hold for a week to help out with the Festival, anyway." He got up out of the booth. "It was, uh, nice getting a chance to talk with you. Nice? Yeah, let's go with 'nice.' …Welp, anyway, tell Akito I said hi!"

And with that, he went towards the counter to pay for the drinks and head out, leaving Toya to stew on this strange possible revelation. Romance was absolutely not on his mind at all, but it was true that he and Akito spent an inordinate amount of time together—probably even more than normal even for music partners. Was it really because they were romantically interested in each other somewhere in the back of their minds? Were they somehow already boyfriends, but he had just not realized it? Toya was never great with social dynamics, so he wouldn't put it past himself to miss something like this.

There was only one way to clear this up. He pulled his phone back out and opened up the messaging app. "Hey Akito, quick question. Nothing urgent. Are we boyfriends?"

Published May 1, 2023