Work Text:
“What’s your favorite song?”
The voice snapped Tomoro out of wherever his mind drifted off to. He couldn’t entirely remember where he was or what he was doing. All he knew was that his mind had been racing a minute ago, and now Raito was in front of him asking a random question.
“Huh?” Tomoro replied.
“Your favorite song. Go,” Raito said.
“Why?”
Raito gave an exasperated sigh. “Just answer the question, idiot.”
“Um, okay…” Tomoro was no closer to finding out why Raito so badly needed to know this. And how does Tomoro even go about answering the question? There were just way too many songs that he loved in so many different genres that it would be impossible to just pick—
“Hey, hey! Answer,” Raito chided. His hand was now on Tomoro’s shoulder. “Just pick one. Doesn’t even have to be your most favorite. Just give me a song you love.”
Tomoro turned his head and inhaled. “I guess ‘Edge of Limit’?”
“Never heard of it,” Raito replied.
“Y-Yeah, my brother’s band wrote it,” Tomoro said, a nostalgia laden smile appearing on his face. “It was one of their first songs, actually. I listen to it on cassette all the time.” Tomoro softly giggled. “Sometimes, I think I’m gonna wear out the tape with how many times I loop it.”
“What do you like about it?” Raito asked.
Tomoro was still confused as to why Raito was quizzing him about his favorite song, and now that he looked around, he realized there were a lot less people than there had been a few minutes ago. It was a lot quieter, too. And they were in an alleyway?
Rather than asking about their surroundings, Tomoro decided to continue answering Raito’s questions. Because any excuse to talk about music was a welcome one for Tomoro.
“Well,” Tomoro began, “the drum fill before the chorus is really cool! The drums in general in this song always impressed me. They move so fast, yet Asuka never missed a beat.”
“Makes sense that would be your favorite part,” Raito said. Tomoro turned to him and saw a teasing yet fond smile on the boy’s face. “What else?”
“Hmm, the vocals are really good, too! The notes for the vocal melody cover two octaves. It’s an impressive range.”
“Wow, that is impressive,” Raito said. “Do you have the cassette on you? I wanna listen.”
“Yeah, I do.” Tomoro reached into his bag to take out his cassette player with the tape inside and earphones plugged in. As he did this, he noticed there were scratches on his hands, dried blood coating them. How did those get there? Well, it didn’t matter.
Tomoro made sure the tape was wound to the beginning before placing the right bud in his ear. He handed Raito the left bud. Raito copied Tomoro and moved to stand by his side so the cord had enough slack. Once that was all done, Tomoro pressed play.
There were a few beats of silence before the first note and the drums rang out. After a measure of that, the vocals and guitar came in. Tomoro smiled as he listened to the familiar melodies. His left hand started tapping to the beat—162 beats per minute, he remembered. If he focused enough, he could imagine the click track Asuka’s band often practiced to. Watching Asuka play the drums at band practice was one of Tomoro’s favorite memories.
…He missed Asuka.
Tomoro felt something touch his hand. When he looked over, he saw Raito grabbing it. He gently interlocked their fingers and squeezed. Tomoro trailed his vision from their hands to Raito’s face. Raito was giving Tomoro that soft smile only reserved for him. Tomoro blushed and smiled back.
“It’s really good,” Raito said. “Your brother is a very skilled drummer. The vocalist is great, too. Very impressive.”
Tomoro leaned against Raito. “Asuka would love to know you think so.”
Raito squeezed Tomoro’s hand again. “I’ll make sure to tell him someday.”
They listened to the rest of the song in silence. Tomoro closed his eyes to better immerse himself in the music. He probably would have gotten completely lost had it not been for Raito squeezing his hand every now and then. Tomoro always squeezed back, assuring Raito that he was still cognizant of his presence. The music hadn’t completely taken over.
Once the last chord ceased ringing and silence followed, Tomoro opened his eyes to an earbud. He turned to see Raito holding it out to him, face still in a smile.
“I see why this is one of your favorites,” Raito said. “Probably better with both ears though.”
“Aw, you don’t like sharing earbuds with me?” Tomoro purposely played up his pout.
“Not what I said, stupid.” Raito flicked Tomoro’s forehead. “I’m saying that I’ll have to look it up later and listen again.”
Tomoro giggled. As he did, the question that went unanswered earlier popped back into his mind.
“How come you asked me for my favorite song?” Tomoro softly asked.
Raito’s smile dropped and Tomoro cocked his head slightly. “You were overstimulated,” he said. “I don’t know if you remember, but a crowd formed after a fight broke out, and you stopped responding to me. You just stood there, staring off into space and scratching at your hands.” Raito traced one of those scratches with the thumb of the hand still holding Tomoro’s. “I had to drag your ass over here and find something else for you to focus on so you’d stop that.”
“Oh.” Tomoro looked down at his shoes. “Sorry.”
“The hell are you apologizing for, idiot?” Tomoro didn’t respond, so Raito continued, “It’s not like I mind. And as a bonus, I have a new song to add to my playlist. You should show me more of their music.”
Tomoro turned back to Raito, face lighting up. “I’d love to!”
Raito’s smile returned before pulling Tomoro into a hug. “How are you feeling now?”
Tomoro wrapped his arms around Raito and nuzzled into his neck. “Better. Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
The two of them stood like that for a while, the hug further calming Tomoro. Now that he thought about it, nobody had really done anything like what Raito had since before Asuka got cold hearted. Tomoro didn’t fault anyone else for not noticing (honestly, he probably would’ve been embarrassed if they did), though knowing Raito not only knew when it was happening but also what to do to calm Tomoro down made him so happy. Raito always paid extra attention, because he cared about Tomoro. Because he loved Tomoro.
“I love you,” Tomoro whispered, smiling as wide as he could.
Raito’s grip tightened. “Same here.”