Chasing Butterflies, Chapter 17, RukixNi~ya, AoixReita
Title: Chasing butterflies
Author: yukigafuru
Rating: PG-17
Chapter: 17/?
Pairings: Aoi/Reita, RukixNi~ya
Bands: Gazette
Warnings: non-graphic underage consensual sex
Genre: angst, romance
Summary: Life is short. You try to catch it and it slips through your fingers. Life is also beautiful. It astounds you at every step. And it only takes one minute, one encounter to change it forever.
Chapter 17
The week after his friends wedding Uruha's request for school transfer finally materialized. He was the only student to enroll in the Tokyo Classical Music College during the school year. He had already been consulting with the professors and when following certain classes since coming to Tokyo, months before, so he had no problem immediately adapting to the new environment. With exams in February, he had quite a bit of classwork to finish in record time, but most of it consisted of violin theory and practicing/composing the pieces required for his exams. In his case, neither posed a particular problem.
In fact, due to his parents' fame and his earlier performances in several inter-school competitions, he was already somewhat of a legend amongst his colleagues. At first, this fame which he believed to be undeserved had actually caused him headaches. He and Reita had bonded as kindergarten playmates, so forming that very special friendship had merely depended on likes and dislikes. Reita had practically adopted him since then and they had been inseparable from the get go.
Once he had started primary school, things had already changed considerably and even as a child, he had realized that pure friendships the likes of which he had formed with Reita would be very hard if not impossible to form. His parents had money, so he was sent to a private school, where “rich” kids were different and better from the rest. But his parents weren't just rich, like business men or even very well off salary man, no, his progenitors were famous and cultured. They were the pride and joy of Japan, and his teachers wasted no opportunity in giving them as examples. Then, even amongst schoolmates with the same financial means as himself, he began being seen as different. Once his talent with the violin was discovered, the stigma was already firmly in place. Due to it, some regarded him as an object to admire or worship, others envied him but none actually saw him anymore for the person he was. They just saw the mask. Uruha was still popular, but his popularity was one that did not give him a lot of satisfaction.
His most prized personal relationship had always been with Reita and he never forgot to not let the fame get to his head and forget that. It spoke of his character and resilience when he decided to follow Reita and do everything in his power for Reita once his childhood friend was diagnosed with cancer. Once in Tokyo, through Uruha, he met Aoi and Ruki, and now Kai, people that truly did not care where he came from or what he could do, but who he was. He had never been more grateful.
Moreover, since his new school was in Tokyo, there were many more students with scholarships and admitted on talent alone rather than finances, and that offered him competition, the possibility to truly shine because of his own merits. He still was a household name, there was no way of avoiding that, but he had at least been welcomed with a level of skepticism he found refreshing. Even after his first colloquiums where he stunned everyone, including his professors, by playing a perfect rendition of the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 there were those few truly gifted that kept challenging him, he actually had rivals.
His professors had also been awed by his talent and more than supportive. They had wanted him to get into the school not only because then they could have a future star to add to their pantheon, but also because they honestly believed their school offered Uruha the chance to shine internationally. Until now, he had refused to compete in international competitions because they had invariably been set up by his parents and had little to do with true classical music and more to do with according trophies. Now, he was offered the chance to participate in a worldwide contest whose winner got a full scholarship to London, studying at the Royal College, playing for his sophomore year with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, if he excelled in all respects, even the opportunity to play lead violin with the Orchestra. It was a huge opportunity, one for which many musicians had to fight an entire life time. Uruha had wanted the scholarship from the moment his professor brought it up, but with Reita's condition and the fact that he had not yet been enrolled in the college, he had not yet come to a decision.
He had not told Reita about it because he knew exactly how his friend would react. He'd tell him to get his tush out to London right that minute, that he shouldn't even try to contemplate giving up a future doing what he loved for him. But to Uruha, his friend had still been the most important and the possibility of losing him while he was away, chasing some improbable dream had not been worth considering.
However, Uruha was now for the first time seriously considering it, debating with himself. He was already enrolled in the college and the competition was drawing closer. He had to make a decision and he was still at an impasse. Reita had Aoi now, and for others that would have been a clear sign of “Leave him in Aoi's care and go do your thing! No need to feel guilty anymore!” Uruha was only human. The thoughts had crossed his mind and he had been mature enough to give them their due relevance but he stayed with Reita because he wanted to stay, not because he felt guilty or obliged or anything of the sort.
But before, Uruha had feared, dreaded even the probability that Reita would die. After Reita and Aoi's wedding, that possibility suddenly seemed remote. On one hand, he wasn't stupid or gullible and think that love could actually cure cancer. On the other, he had never quite believed in true love before he had seen the two of them either. And he did trust that happiness and a will to live had much to do with a patient's recuperation. There was a saying he had heard once: when there is a miracle, God only lights the spark, the rest man does for himself. Being there at that wedding had given Uruha the indelible trust -not supported by any fact but pure and blind faith - that Reita would go into remission, that he would beat that unforgiving disease.
Which was why he now found himself talking about the scholarship to none other than Kai. The way the two had bonded had been a miracle in and of itself. Kai was obviously a classical music fan and Uruha had expected much the same hero worship he usually got. Kai had heard his family name, asked if he was the son of so and so, and after receiving a true and positive answer, nodded and proceeded to ask him about his favorite piece and his favorite food, as if the two had any connection. It turns out they did: they were the two things beside family that Kai loved the most.
Uruha had taken to seeing Kai at the hospital like a moth to a flame. With Reita being busy with Aoi and Ruki very much wrapped up in his own problems, Uruha cherished the time spent with his new friend. Sometimes he would play for the children, others he would simply play with them. But always, afterwards, he and Kai would go get a cup of tea at the nearby coffee shop and talk and talk and talk till they finally remembered they had things that needed to be done for the next day and they would reluctantly part.
So after only a week or so of knowing the other boy, Uruha had come to trust him enough to open his heart to him and tell him about the program.
“That is an amazing opportunity!” Was Kai's first reaction, delivered in an excited but rational tone of voice, nothing resembling fawning or awe. He was just happy for Uruha. “But you've never said whether you wanted to make a career out of being a violinist.” Uruha had learned early on that Kai was very good at problem solving, very good at getting to the core of a problem as fast and painlessly as possible. He might have acquired the skill through his continuous contact with children ailing from cancer. He might have been just born a very level-headed person.
“When I was a child, I didn't. My parents were never at home because of touring, and at school I was seen as something more than a kid, when that was all I wanted to be. Thinking about it now, it seems to me that without Reita I would have turned out either a recluse or a very full-of-himself brat. Reita has been my anchor. But anyway, because I hated my parents for leaving me alone, I hated a bit music itself too. Which is of course a paradox, because I was so good at it. But once I grew up and realized it wasn't the music that took my parents away, it was just my parents making bad decisions, it became a solace, a friend. I love music. Do you now see why I would love sharing that love with others, making a career out of it?”
Kai had been listening very carefully, nodding from time to time, shaking his head in disbelief and disappointment when Uruha talked about his parents abandonment.
“Then what's keeping you back - and I get the impression you hate me phrasing it that way, but I'll do it all the same - is Reita, right?” Straight to the point, again. For a moment, Uruha imagined other people being faced with the same frankness and reacting very differently. Briefly and almost without recognizing it, he had a flicker of an uncontrollable urge to protect Kai from that kind of people.
“Yeah, I hate that phrasing, because if Reita would even know, he'd be the one kicking me out of the country. He actually is my greatest supporter. He was even talking about studying hard and becoming my manager one day, if you believe it! Which is another reason why I should go actually, because Reita wants me to, because I think it would make him happy.”
“But you also want to be here for him.” Kai correctly deduced. “And maybe you're just a bit scared.” That, Uruha had not been expecting.
“Scared?” He inquired.
“Well, it would basically mean immeasurable success or utter failure, am I right? Your career and dreams, in one sweep. You might think of yourself as good or talented, but are you that talented? Can you be the best in the world? Anyone would be afraid of taking that chance and I think that many never do because of the fear of loss.”
“The pain people feel from losing an amount of money is heavier than the happiness people get at winning that same amount.” Uruha remembered his math professors lecture. He had also personally reflected about its relevance to music and the way passions were described through sounds. He hadn't quite thought of his problem in that light. “It's a math and economical theory.” He briefly explained.
“So would you?”
“Would I what?” Uruha was a bit thrown off since he hadn't remembered there being a question.
“Would you risk everything? If Reita were perfectly healthy, would you go?”
Uruha gave himself the time to consider it. Kai was asking him to consider it, not just give a bragging generative affirmative answer, like most people would have. Most people didn't actually have to choose.
“You're right. It hadn't actually registered like that. I think the risk and fear of losing everything, I somehow added them with the risk of losing Reita.”
“Except they're quite different.”
“You're right. I...”
“Would you throw yourself into the unknown, literally? Think it through, you don't even have to give yourself an answer today. You'd go to a country with a culture and habits you don't know, speaking a language you're not good at, studying in a cut-throat environment, away from your loved ones, all for the mere possibility of success.” Kai put it as bleakly as possible and for the first time, Uruha truly understood what he was talking about. It was fantastic how Kai could understand things about him that Uruha himself hadn't questioned before. Kai was obviously meant to work with people. Maybe that was why he was so comfortable in the hospital, in spite of his own personal tragedy.
“I'll think about it more. But right now, even if the idea scares me... You scared me.” He teased and Kai smiled without actually commenting, exactly what Uruha needed right then. “Yeah, I think I would.”
Then, the strangest thing happened. Kai, who had been sitting on the seat next to him, kind of suddenly through himself in Uruha's arms in a very friendly embrace. The embrace itself was almost unheard of for a Japanese, but the very public way in which he had did it, even more so and Uruha blushed but wrapped his arms around his friend. Briefly, he realized that leaving Japan would now mean more than leaving Reita behind, it would also mean leaving Kai behind. Who knew if when he'd get back, Kai would still be there, available, a friend to depend on?” The idea was like a thorn prickling his heart, especially once Kai whispered: “I think you would too.”
“Do you think I should go?” Uruha asked and wasn't sure what he wanted with that question. He had an inkling that he wanted Kai to tell him to stay, although the reason he would want that was too complicated to think about.
“I don't know you that well yet. Maybe I'd never know you well enough to give you an answer to that specific question.” Kai answered half in joke, half seriously. Uruha felt that it was again, the perfect answer.
“I'll enter the competition. And I'll win.”
“Confident, hmmm...?” Kai's eyes had this sparkle to them, like the Polar star on a dark winter night.
Uruha made a gag move of slicking his hair back like some of those Hollywood hot-shots did in movies and mimicked a very phony French accent. “But of course.” He said, making them both giggle. This thing, this friendship was so easy that the invitation just slipped past his lips. “Come to the competition? Be my date for that night? I can invite one person and I want it to be you.”
Kai was obviously happy for the invitation, but he was also reluctant. He clearly wanted to go, not only because of his love for classical music, but because Uruha wanted him to be his support. He soon cleared up his reason for hesitating.
“Shouldn't you rather ask Reita?”
“I want to tell Reita once the decision is made. And between the two of us, Reita knows nothing about classical violin.” And I want you there. He thought.
“Ask me again before the event. If you don't change your mind by then, I'll come with you.” Kai answered.
“It's in a month.” Uruha had forgotten to mention it.
“What? And you haven't even been practicing? Are you insane?!” He was obviously more distressed about Uruha winning than himself being there. Uruha really liked that.
“I have been practicing since I was five. There's this song that has meant the world to me. Before I learned to love music, I hated it because I couldn't play it. After, I loved it, and not only because I couldn't play it.”
“What is it?” Kai was almost bouncing in his seat from excitement. The very mature and down to earth man acted like a baby at times. Then, he carefully deflated a bit. “Should I not ask? Is it meant to be a surprise?”
“No, not really. It's “The Devil's Thrill”.” Uruha declared.
“No!” He was shocked indeed. “That's possibly the most difficult piece, isn't it?”
“I'm not playing it in it's entirety. It would be quite impossible to do it perfectly. But the part I am playing, which you will allow me to keep as a surprise...” Uruha smiled and Kai's reaction was just as beautiful.
“Then I'm definitely going.” He rushed to declare but then, realized the dilemma. “Oops. If you don't decide to invite Reita after all, that is. I mean that.” He was playing with his fingers a bit, indicating his nervousness. The finger cracks somehow made Uruha nervous, so to reassure the other, he put his palm over Kai's hands.
“I won't.” Without meaning to he glanced at the wall-clock. “Wow, it's so late already. We should be going.”
“Yeah. You have practicing to do.” Kai said and gently bumped Uruha's shoulder in movement.
“You bet. I need to impress you after all.” Was he unconsciously flirting?
“Forget about me! I'm going to expect you to have those judges in your pockets!” Kai seemed to genuinely believe his own words. Uruha was unwittingly reassured, not realizing how much. When he had met Kai, he was still largely undecided about whether he would take up the offer or not. Now, a few hours later, he knew he was going to try.
And the reason he wanted to keep Reita unaware was because he wanted to surprise him if he made it. If he failed, he didn't want to sadden his friend. He was a newly-wed after all. He wanted him to be perfectly blissful for as long as possible. And Uruha had no doubt that Reita would support him no matter what.
A/N:
Thanks you again to all those reading and special bunny hugs to those commenting. Since a lot of you wanted to see more of UruhaxKai, my bunnies gave you this specifically.
Author: yukigafuru
Rating: PG-17
Chapter: 17/?
Pairings: Aoi/Reita, RukixNi~ya
Bands: Gazette
Warnings: non-graphic underage consensual sex
Genre: angst, romance
Summary: Life is short. You try to catch it and it slips through your fingers. Life is also beautiful. It astounds you at every step. And it only takes one minute, one encounter to change it forever.
Chapter 17
The week after his friends wedding Uruha's request for school transfer finally materialized. He was the only student to enroll in the Tokyo Classical Music College during the school year. He had already been consulting with the professors and when following certain classes since coming to Tokyo, months before, so he had no problem immediately adapting to the new environment. With exams in February, he had quite a bit of classwork to finish in record time, but most of it consisted of violin theory and practicing/composing the pieces required for his exams. In his case, neither posed a particular problem.
In fact, due to his parents' fame and his earlier performances in several inter-school competitions, he was already somewhat of a legend amongst his colleagues. At first, this fame which he believed to be undeserved had actually caused him headaches. He and Reita had bonded as kindergarten playmates, so forming that very special friendship had merely depended on likes and dislikes. Reita had practically adopted him since then and they had been inseparable from the get go.
Once he had started primary school, things had already changed considerably and even as a child, he had realized that pure friendships the likes of which he had formed with Reita would be very hard if not impossible to form. His parents had money, so he was sent to a private school, where “rich” kids were different and better from the rest. But his parents weren't just rich, like business men or even very well off salary man, no, his progenitors were famous and cultured. They were the pride and joy of Japan, and his teachers wasted no opportunity in giving them as examples. Then, even amongst schoolmates with the same financial means as himself, he began being seen as different. Once his talent with the violin was discovered, the stigma was already firmly in place. Due to it, some regarded him as an object to admire or worship, others envied him but none actually saw him anymore for the person he was. They just saw the mask. Uruha was still popular, but his popularity was one that did not give him a lot of satisfaction.
His most prized personal relationship had always been with Reita and he never forgot to not let the fame get to his head and forget that. It spoke of his character and resilience when he decided to follow Reita and do everything in his power for Reita once his childhood friend was diagnosed with cancer. Once in Tokyo, through Uruha, he met Aoi and Ruki, and now Kai, people that truly did not care where he came from or what he could do, but who he was. He had never been more grateful.
Moreover, since his new school was in Tokyo, there were many more students with scholarships and admitted on talent alone rather than finances, and that offered him competition, the possibility to truly shine because of his own merits. He still was a household name, there was no way of avoiding that, but he had at least been welcomed with a level of skepticism he found refreshing. Even after his first colloquiums where he stunned everyone, including his professors, by playing a perfect rendition of the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 there were those few truly gifted that kept challenging him, he actually had rivals.
His professors had also been awed by his talent and more than supportive. They had wanted him to get into the school not only because then they could have a future star to add to their pantheon, but also because they honestly believed their school offered Uruha the chance to shine internationally. Until now, he had refused to compete in international competitions because they had invariably been set up by his parents and had little to do with true classical music and more to do with according trophies. Now, he was offered the chance to participate in a worldwide contest whose winner got a full scholarship to London, studying at the Royal College, playing for his sophomore year with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, if he excelled in all respects, even the opportunity to play lead violin with the Orchestra. It was a huge opportunity, one for which many musicians had to fight an entire life time. Uruha had wanted the scholarship from the moment his professor brought it up, but with Reita's condition and the fact that he had not yet been enrolled in the college, he had not yet come to a decision.
He had not told Reita about it because he knew exactly how his friend would react. He'd tell him to get his tush out to London right that minute, that he shouldn't even try to contemplate giving up a future doing what he loved for him. But to Uruha, his friend had still been the most important and the possibility of losing him while he was away, chasing some improbable dream had not been worth considering.
However, Uruha was now for the first time seriously considering it, debating with himself. He was already enrolled in the college and the competition was drawing closer. He had to make a decision and he was still at an impasse. Reita had Aoi now, and for others that would have been a clear sign of “Leave him in Aoi's care and go do your thing! No need to feel guilty anymore!” Uruha was only human. The thoughts had crossed his mind and he had been mature enough to give them their due relevance but he stayed with Reita because he wanted to stay, not because he felt guilty or obliged or anything of the sort.
But before, Uruha had feared, dreaded even the probability that Reita would die. After Reita and Aoi's wedding, that possibility suddenly seemed remote. On one hand, he wasn't stupid or gullible and think that love could actually cure cancer. On the other, he had never quite believed in true love before he had seen the two of them either. And he did trust that happiness and a will to live had much to do with a patient's recuperation. There was a saying he had heard once: when there is a miracle, God only lights the spark, the rest man does for himself. Being there at that wedding had given Uruha the indelible trust -not supported by any fact but pure and blind faith - that Reita would go into remission, that he would beat that unforgiving disease.
Which was why he now found himself talking about the scholarship to none other than Kai. The way the two had bonded had been a miracle in and of itself. Kai was obviously a classical music fan and Uruha had expected much the same hero worship he usually got. Kai had heard his family name, asked if he was the son of so and so, and after receiving a true and positive answer, nodded and proceeded to ask him about his favorite piece and his favorite food, as if the two had any connection. It turns out they did: they were the two things beside family that Kai loved the most.
Uruha had taken to seeing Kai at the hospital like a moth to a flame. With Reita being busy with Aoi and Ruki very much wrapped up in his own problems, Uruha cherished the time spent with his new friend. Sometimes he would play for the children, others he would simply play with them. But always, afterwards, he and Kai would go get a cup of tea at the nearby coffee shop and talk and talk and talk till they finally remembered they had things that needed to be done for the next day and they would reluctantly part.
So after only a week or so of knowing the other boy, Uruha had come to trust him enough to open his heart to him and tell him about the program.
“That is an amazing opportunity!” Was Kai's first reaction, delivered in an excited but rational tone of voice, nothing resembling fawning or awe. He was just happy for Uruha. “But you've never said whether you wanted to make a career out of being a violinist.” Uruha had learned early on that Kai was very good at problem solving, very good at getting to the core of a problem as fast and painlessly as possible. He might have acquired the skill through his continuous contact with children ailing from cancer. He might have been just born a very level-headed person.
“When I was a child, I didn't. My parents were never at home because of touring, and at school I was seen as something more than a kid, when that was all I wanted to be. Thinking about it now, it seems to me that without Reita I would have turned out either a recluse or a very full-of-himself brat. Reita has been my anchor. But anyway, because I hated my parents for leaving me alone, I hated a bit music itself too. Which is of course a paradox, because I was so good at it. But once I grew up and realized it wasn't the music that took my parents away, it was just my parents making bad decisions, it became a solace, a friend. I love music. Do you now see why I would love sharing that love with others, making a career out of it?”
Kai had been listening very carefully, nodding from time to time, shaking his head in disbelief and disappointment when Uruha talked about his parents abandonment.
“Then what's keeping you back - and I get the impression you hate me phrasing it that way, but I'll do it all the same - is Reita, right?” Straight to the point, again. For a moment, Uruha imagined other people being faced with the same frankness and reacting very differently. Briefly and almost without recognizing it, he had a flicker of an uncontrollable urge to protect Kai from that kind of people.
“Yeah, I hate that phrasing, because if Reita would even know, he'd be the one kicking me out of the country. He actually is my greatest supporter. He was even talking about studying hard and becoming my manager one day, if you believe it! Which is another reason why I should go actually, because Reita wants me to, because I think it would make him happy.”
“But you also want to be here for him.” Kai correctly deduced. “And maybe you're just a bit scared.” That, Uruha had not been expecting.
“Scared?” He inquired.
“Well, it would basically mean immeasurable success or utter failure, am I right? Your career and dreams, in one sweep. You might think of yourself as good or talented, but are you that talented? Can you be the best in the world? Anyone would be afraid of taking that chance and I think that many never do because of the fear of loss.”
“The pain people feel from losing an amount of money is heavier than the happiness people get at winning that same amount.” Uruha remembered his math professors lecture. He had also personally reflected about its relevance to music and the way passions were described through sounds. He hadn't quite thought of his problem in that light. “It's a math and economical theory.” He briefly explained.
“So would you?”
“Would I what?” Uruha was a bit thrown off since he hadn't remembered there being a question.
“Would you risk everything? If Reita were perfectly healthy, would you go?”
Uruha gave himself the time to consider it. Kai was asking him to consider it, not just give a bragging generative affirmative answer, like most people would have. Most people didn't actually have to choose.
“You're right. It hadn't actually registered like that. I think the risk and fear of losing everything, I somehow added them with the risk of losing Reita.”
“Except they're quite different.”
“You're right. I...”
“Would you throw yourself into the unknown, literally? Think it through, you don't even have to give yourself an answer today. You'd go to a country with a culture and habits you don't know, speaking a language you're not good at, studying in a cut-throat environment, away from your loved ones, all for the mere possibility of success.” Kai put it as bleakly as possible and for the first time, Uruha truly understood what he was talking about. It was fantastic how Kai could understand things about him that Uruha himself hadn't questioned before. Kai was obviously meant to work with people. Maybe that was why he was so comfortable in the hospital, in spite of his own personal tragedy.
“I'll think about it more. But right now, even if the idea scares me... You scared me.” He teased and Kai smiled without actually commenting, exactly what Uruha needed right then. “Yeah, I think I would.”
Then, the strangest thing happened. Kai, who had been sitting on the seat next to him, kind of suddenly through himself in Uruha's arms in a very friendly embrace. The embrace itself was almost unheard of for a Japanese, but the very public way in which he had did it, even more so and Uruha blushed but wrapped his arms around his friend. Briefly, he realized that leaving Japan would now mean more than leaving Reita behind, it would also mean leaving Kai behind. Who knew if when he'd get back, Kai would still be there, available, a friend to depend on?” The idea was like a thorn prickling his heart, especially once Kai whispered: “I think you would too.”
“Do you think I should go?” Uruha asked and wasn't sure what he wanted with that question. He had an inkling that he wanted Kai to tell him to stay, although the reason he would want that was too complicated to think about.
“I don't know you that well yet. Maybe I'd never know you well enough to give you an answer to that specific question.” Kai answered half in joke, half seriously. Uruha felt that it was again, the perfect answer.
“I'll enter the competition. And I'll win.”
“Confident, hmmm...?” Kai's eyes had this sparkle to them, like the Polar star on a dark winter night.
Uruha made a gag move of slicking his hair back like some of those Hollywood hot-shots did in movies and mimicked a very phony French accent. “But of course.” He said, making them both giggle. This thing, this friendship was so easy that the invitation just slipped past his lips. “Come to the competition? Be my date for that night? I can invite one person and I want it to be you.”
Kai was obviously happy for the invitation, but he was also reluctant. He clearly wanted to go, not only because of his love for classical music, but because Uruha wanted him to be his support. He soon cleared up his reason for hesitating.
“Shouldn't you rather ask Reita?”
“I want to tell Reita once the decision is made. And between the two of us, Reita knows nothing about classical violin.” And I want you there. He thought.
“Ask me again before the event. If you don't change your mind by then, I'll come with you.” Kai answered.
“It's in a month.” Uruha had forgotten to mention it.
“What? And you haven't even been practicing? Are you insane?!” He was obviously more distressed about Uruha winning than himself being there. Uruha really liked that.
“I have been practicing since I was five. There's this song that has meant the world to me. Before I learned to love music, I hated it because I couldn't play it. After, I loved it, and not only because I couldn't play it.”
“What is it?” Kai was almost bouncing in his seat from excitement. The very mature and down to earth man acted like a baby at times. Then, he carefully deflated a bit. “Should I not ask? Is it meant to be a surprise?”
“No, not really. It's “The Devil's Thrill”.” Uruha declared.
“No!” He was shocked indeed. “That's possibly the most difficult piece, isn't it?”
“I'm not playing it in it's entirety. It would be quite impossible to do it perfectly. But the part I am playing, which you will allow me to keep as a surprise...” Uruha smiled and Kai's reaction was just as beautiful.
“Then I'm definitely going.” He rushed to declare but then, realized the dilemma. “Oops. If you don't decide to invite Reita after all, that is. I mean that.” He was playing with his fingers a bit, indicating his nervousness. The finger cracks somehow made Uruha nervous, so to reassure the other, he put his palm over Kai's hands.
“I won't.” Without meaning to he glanced at the wall-clock. “Wow, it's so late already. We should be going.”
“Yeah. You have practicing to do.” Kai said and gently bumped Uruha's shoulder in movement.
“You bet. I need to impress you after all.” Was he unconsciously flirting?
“Forget about me! I'm going to expect you to have those judges in your pockets!” Kai seemed to genuinely believe his own words. Uruha was unwittingly reassured, not realizing how much. When he had met Kai, he was still largely undecided about whether he would take up the offer or not. Now, a few hours later, he knew he was going to try.
And the reason he wanted to keep Reita unaware was because he wanted to surprise him if he made it. If he failed, he didn't want to sadden his friend. He was a newly-wed after all. He wanted him to be perfectly blissful for as long as possible. And Uruha had no doubt that Reita would support him no matter what.
A/N:
Thanks you again to all those reading and special bunny hugs to those commenting. Since a lot of you wanted to see more of UruhaxKai, my bunnies gave you this specifically.