A Place for You to Return
yagami's c87 story
Yagami accepts an invitation to perform violin on TV right before Christmas, but Yuki's favorite part is his return to the dorm afterward. :3
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A Place for You to Return
"Merry Christmas!"
It was Saturday night, still one week before Christmas. Tonight there was going to be a Christmas party organized by the student council and Durak. The venue was the auditorium, and Sonoda-san's food was lined up on top of the tables that had been brought in. Everyone was smiling and talking happily in the gorgeously decorated room.
"I brought more roast beef!"
I carried a tray arranged with meat so beautiful you could even call it art, and everyone bustled towards it, reaching out their hands one after another. Ugh... It looked delicious. Since I was an organizer, I'd been running back and forth through the auditorium the whole time, but I couldn't help coming to a stop.
If Yagami was here, I was sure he'd stuff his mouth, saying 'it's good, it's good.' He wasn't here, but his image came to my mind. Even though it was a school event, and a Christmas event at that, my lover wasn't by my side. My shoulders slumped a little and someone tapped them.
"Asahina-kun, it's time. It's Yagami's turn!" I turned around and Omi-san had his fists clenched in excitement.
I quickly went to up to the stage to stand in front of the screen we'd set up. It lit up with the sattellite broadcast screen. Standing on the stage in a concert hall, lit by a spotlight, was a woman in a gorgeous dress, holding a microphone.
"This is Yagami Reon-kun, a violinist who is currently in high school!"
The one who came out from backstage after being introduced was...
"Reo-Reo is wearing a tuxedo."
"He looks pretty good!"
I nodded vigorously at Arata-san's and Kuya-san's words.
Yagami looked so cool... Even his hair style, smoothed more than usual, set off his long, narrow eyes.
The hostess was a famous announcer even I recognized, but Yagami wasn't the least bit nervous and gave her a light bow.
"Yagami-kun, you're the son of Yagami An, aren't you? You must have been playing the violin since you were little?"
"Yes, since I was two."
He was a little curt, but that was how Yagami was. He was facing the mike and answering confidently. The hostess complimented him, 'Yagami-kun, you're very composed and dashing.'
Recently, Yagami had attracted attention as a young violinist and had gotten requests to perform on TV. Yagami wasn't interested in that sort of thing so he had turned down most of them, he'd said. But today, it seemed he'd decided to appear since he'd been asked by a producer who'd helped out his violinist mother and it was a Christmas charity concert for sick kids.
The focus changed to the center of the stage and Yagami readied his violin. The song name appeared in the captions with the sounds of tuning instruments in the background. Even I knew 'Bach' but I couldn't really tell what the name of the song was. It was probably a 'partita.'
After a short silence, I felt I could hear Yagami take a quick breath. The next moment, a sparkling sound sprung from Yagami's violin like magic. The first time I'd heard it, I'd felt nothing but happiness, but now I was powerfully drawn into that world of sound.
In Omi-san's words, recently, the emotional breadth and depth of Yagami's playing had increased so much that you could fall in love listening to it, it seemed.
The image switched to a close-up of Yagami. There was nothing of the Yagami who always always by my side, smiling or scowling, in the way he looked playing the violin. He was feeling some sublime emotion that matched the beautiful tones. It was like he was someone from a different world than me.
Seeing Yagami like that, a small pain ran through me, tightening my chest. It was strange. Why did I feel like this? I should have been really happy that Yagami was playing the violin in front of such a large audience like this.
As I listened to gorgeous music of the violin filling the auditorium, I started to feel like I was frozen in place, all by myself.
~~~
There was a sound, it was a knock. I had been dozing since I was tired from working behind the scenes at the party, and I jumped up out of bed and rushed to open the door.
"Yagami... welcome back."
I hadn't thought he would come back today. I was happy and I ushered him into the room as I felt my face naturally break into a smile.
"I'm back. Ugh, I'm cold."
He slipped by me and put down his violin case and took off his peacoat, revealing the form I'd seen on TV. He had come back just as he was from the concert hall. Knowing his way around, Yagami took one of my hangers and hung the coat on the wall.
"That tuxedo is cool."
"Hah. It's too stuffy." He snatched off the bowtie and quickly undid the shirt buttons. I was a bit shocked at how he'd mussed up the perfectly neat clothes. I could see tan skin and collarbones from the collar of the shirt. I should have been used to that much exposure when he wore a normal t-shirt. I unconsciously averted my eyes, and Yagami flopped down on my bed without noticing.
"Ah. It's warm."
"Isn't the tuxedo going to get wrinkles?"
"It doesn't matter. It's going out for cleaning anyway."
Then, I supposed I would admire him like this a little longer. I lay down next to Yagami. I pressed right against his back and maybe it was the smell of his clothing, but there was a nice smell. Yagami shivered uneasily, but he didn't try to move his body away from me.
"Are you warmer with me doing this?"
Yagami hmphed through his nose. But the usual 'idiot' didn't come flying at me.
Just because we had become lovers, it didn't mean we had a lot more time alone together. Since even on weekends, Yagami threw himself into practice alone, in silence. But just like today, on the days he performed among a lot of people he didn't know, he'd come to loaf around in my room without saying anything. He was probably really tired.
"I heard your performance. It was really good. Everyone was entranced. Me too, of course!"
"Well, thanks." It was curt, but Yagami had replied, and I leaned in happily.
"From the first melody, it was like it sparkled, and you were playing so amazingly fast, it really drew me in! That's my Yagami! You're amazing!"
"You..." Yagami opened his eyes slightly. He looked annoyed, but then he suddenly smiled. "I'm surprised you can be so impressed after hearing me play all the time." Yagami laughed like he was astounded, and a little sarcastic. But his eyes narrowed with amusement.
This was Yagami. The was the usual Yagami I knew. The one I loved, who went to BL School with me.
"Yagami..."
Somehow, I really wanted to touch him, and I naturally kissed Yagami. It was just a little brush, but I felt his lips, soft and cold. Not just his lips, but I dropped kisses on the chilled skin of his nose and cheeks.
"Ugh... Don't do that all of a sudden..."
"But when I ask 'Can I kiss you?', you get mad, saying don't ask all the time. Anyway, your face is really cold."
"Well... I just got back."
It was late at night and he should have stayed at a hotel, but even in this cold, he'd come back and come straight to my room. When I thought about that, I got really happy, and I hugged Yagami's body tight as I kissed him again.
"Idiot. Get off me." Yagami tried to push me back, but I wasn't about to quit.
"Whatever. It's a week early, but my lover was missing from the Christmas party. Now that my dear lover has come back, I'm not going to let you go." I clung to Yagami tighter and kissed his cold cheeks and nose over and over.
"Ugh... Like I care..." At first, he twisted his body away in refusal, but gradually he accepted the stroking kisses. Probably it was okay today. When he really didn't like it, he let the kicks fly mercilessly.
"Yagami... I wanna do more..."
"Mm... mph..."
Our lips met. They pressed deeply and I held Yagami close. He returned my embrace. I could feel the sensation of a different cloth than usual under the palm of my hand. The material of the tuxedo was so soft.
"Can I do it with you still dressed like this?"
"Huh?"
At his puzzled expression, I started undoing the buttons without waiting for an answer.
"Hey... What are you doing, dumbass!?"
"I just want to touch you. It's the same as usual, isn't it?" I touched his bare skin under the shirt with a fingertip and his body jerked away. "I'm just going to touch you..."
It had been about half a year since we became lovers. Every day was spent exploring how far I could make out with Yagami, who was an extreme late-bloomer when it came to romance.
"Don't think about anything. Just feel."
Yagami had told me once that since emotions like 'love' and 'hate' were a hinderance when he played the violin, he made himself empty. Remembering that got me past one barrier.
"...Ah..."
I traced up his slightly muscled abdomen and when my finger touched a nipple, a faintly sexy sigh escaped him. I felt like I wanted to advance a step further than loving by just touching each other with hands and lips and tongue. But I intended to wait until the day that Yagami wanted me to.
"Ngh... Not just the top..." Yagami hesitantly touched my head as I kissed him, face buried in the opening of his shirt.
"Then, where should I touch?"
I felt the next door was opening up a little more.
~~~
"Yaaagami."
After quickly tidying things up, I called out to Yagami, who was sleeping curled up with his back to me at the edge of the bed.
"...What?"
Oh, thank goodness. He wasn't asleep yet. When I kissed him with a smooch sound behind his ear, he said it tickled and brushed me off with his hand.
"You know, on TV, the hostess said you were cool."
"I don't care. I'm not going on TV anymore."
The teasing made Yagami look pissy.
"But I want you to."
"Huh?"
"But I want lots of people to hear you playing violin. I couldn't go to the concert today, but I was able to hear it on TV."
"...I see."
At my words, Yagami's eyes suddenly got a distant look. He must have been thinking about something. The performance? The audience? Or his own past and future?
I boldly tried asking something I'd been wondering about for a long time. "Hey, Yagami, have you thought about something like studying abroad?"
"What? That's sudden."
"Mm... Recently I've started to wonder about violinists and pianists our age. They all study abroad and go overseas to work from the time they're young, don't they? So you should soon too..."
"Idiot." There was a smack sound on my forehead. Yagami, who had hit me, rolled over and put his back to me again. "I'm not going abroad until I graduate here."
"Why?" I got up and peered at Yagami, leaning over his back. I heard his embarrassed voice in my ear.
"Well... of, of course it's because you're here, dumbass." His voice was really, really soft.
I was so happy, I hugged him tight just like that. I flooded with feelings of wanting to be tender even more. Our bodies started to get warm as they touched.
"I'm sleepy." Yagami curled himself up and hid his face in the bed. He was probably hiding his embarrassment.
But since he really did seem sleepy, I whispered softly in his ear. "Good night, Yagami."
I closed my eyes and heard a beautiful sound. It was my beloved Yagami's violin. Tomorrow, I'd try asking Yagami to play Christmas songs. It might be nice to take the opportunity to have a mini concert in the cafeteria. Then maybe I'd sing along too. I was sure everyone would be happy to listen.
Next week would be my first Christmas spent at BL School.
FIN.