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Yuto used the key card he’d been given to enter through the back entrance of the tall building where Yuya’s agency resided and headed for the elevator.
It had been a couple weeks now since he and Yuya had reconciled and, although Yuya had stated he wanted to be public, that didn’t mean they didn’t need to exercise some caution.
Yuya had posted a social media post thanking his fans for attending his show and apologizing again to anyone who may have been shocked by his declaration. He’d made sure to confirm that he wasn’t giving up on his career and intended to work extra hard to prove he still took his status as an idol very seriously and even hinted at a new song in the works.
The new song thing had been his manager’s idea, though the ‘in the works’ part might have been a stretch at that point in time. It was starting to come together lately now that they’d actually begun the process however. Yuya had been working even harder than usual on it to make sure it would be flawless, which certainly limited the amount of time Yuto could see him.
Yuto understood this as well and he had no complaints. He knew Yuya was doing what he could to salvage his career and, as his partner, it made sense for Yuto to stand firmly by him.
Although neither of them had publicly stated who Yuya had been talking about that night, Yuya’s fans had been quick to figure it out.
A fan had replied to Yuya’s post asking him if the person he spoke about came and how it went and Yuya had simply replied, ‘He did♥️’, which, understandably, that simple pronoun threw a lot more chaos into the whole situation. Yuya had gotten a reprimand pretty fiercely by Sawatari for that one, but he had said that he wanted to be completely honest from now on with his fans, regardless of the backlash.
The elevator dinged as it reached its destination and the doors slid open to reveal the office lobby.
A moment later, the door to Sawatari’s office opened and he peeked out.
“Oh,” his voice was somewhat flat as he stepped out. “It’s you.”
Yuto offered him a polite smile regardless. “Hello, Sawatari.”
“You’re here for Yuya, I expect…” he sighed. “He’s in the studio working with Yuzu on his new dance routine.” He placed a hand on his hip.
Yuto nodded and glanced towards the hallway that led to the studio. “Right. I suppose that makes sense.”
“Say…” Sawatari began carefully. “Did Kurosaki come with you?”
Yuto raised a brow. “Uhh… well, he dropped me off. Did you need to speak with him?”
“You could say that,” he hummed before disappearing back into his office. A moment later, he came back out with his coat and his belt bag.
“I’m taking off a little early. You can go in, but do not distract Yuya, you hear me? He does not need more mistakes to deal with,” Sawatari scolded sternly, pointing a finger at him. “Got that?”
Yuto nodded. “Yes, understood,” he agreed, then smiled. “Thank you for supporting Yuya during this turbulent time. I appreciate it.”
“Well, of course!” Sawatari huffed. “A situation like this requires only the very best management, so there’s no one better suited than I,” he smirked. “I’m going to dig him out of his hole and be cemented as the greatest talent manager to ever live!”
Yuto chuckled. “Then I’ll put my faith in you too.”
Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Sawatari grinned. “As you should,” he noted before brushing past Yuto to leave the office. “Tell Yuya and Yuzu they need to lock up tonight.”
Once he left, Yuto started down the hallway to the dance studio. He’d been here a couple times now, so he knew the way. Although the room had some soundproofing, when he reached the door, he could still hear the pump of pop music bleeding through.
After a moment of deliberating on whether knocking would be more or less distracting, Yuto decided to enter the room as quietly as he could.
“One! Two! Step, step, and… right, turn, pivot!” Yuzu was calling out the steps as she clapped to the rhythm. She was pacing near Yuya while he danced, keeping an eye on his movements so she could properly assess him.
Yuya was in a light set of workout clothes and he had a soft sheen of sweat from exertion as he followed Yuzu’s directions. His face was screwed up in concentration as he tried to memorize the steps. That was the only sign to indicate to Yuto that it was still early days in learning this dance. For Yuya’s more practiced dances, Yuto knew he would be focusing on making sure he was smiling or that his voice kept steady and didn’t shake with his movements as he sang.
Well, he supposed the lack of singing was also a pretty strong indicator.
Yuzu gave Yuto a glance and a slight nod of recognition, but she kept her focus on guiding Yuya through the steps until the very end.
Yuya struck his pose as the song came to a close, panting a bit.
Yuzu hummed. “That was better than last time, but your steps are still sloppy. When you enter the second chorus, you still look like you’re about to fall over on that turn. You need to sure up your footing to make it look more seamless,” Yuzu instructed, continuing on to give Yuya a few more notes she had on the routine.
Yuya stood and ran his fingers through his sweaty bangs, pouting a bit, but nodding slowly in acceptance as he listened.
It was then that he finally noticed Yuto was in the room, his eyes widening as they fell on him.
“And also–”
“Yuto!” Yuya chimed cheerfully, cutting Yuzu off. The way his whole body seemed to light up made Yuto smile too, his own filling with a pleasant warmth.
“Hey!” Yuzu whacked Yuya on the head with her clipboard. “Pay attention! You can talk to Yuto later!” she scolded him.
Yuya pouted again, rubbing the top of his head. “Ow, hey, but…”
“It’s okay, Yuya,” Yuto urged as he went to take a seat in one of the folding chairs against the wall. “I promised Sawatari I wouldn’t distract you. You should continue. I’ll wait for you to finish.”
Yuya was somewhat reluctant, the desire in Yuya’s eyes to run over to Yuto to embrace him was practically tangible. He was so cute…
Then he sighed and nodded. “Okay, okay… You’re right. Gotta focus!” he pumped his fists, turning to Yuzu with a look of determination. “Let’s go again!”
Yuya got into position and Yuzu started the track again.
Even if it was unpolished, Yuto couldn’t help but admire the way Yuya danced and moved so smoothly. He really was a true performer… Idols truly were on a whole other level.
Practice continued for another hour, with Yuzu stopping Yuya at various times to show him how to do certain steps better and more smoothly, until Yuzu clapped her hands in finality. “Okay! That’s a wrap for today. Good work,” she smiled at Yuya.
“I’ve got to do some paperwork, so I’ll be around a bit longer. Don’t forget to do your cool down stretches before you leave, okay? You’ll regret it tomorrow if you don’t.”
Yuya saluted her. “You’ve got it, boss!”
Yuzu grinned and rolled her eyes. She glanced at Yuto. “Nice seeing you, Yuto,” she noted to him before she exited the studio.
As soon as she had left, Yuto stood up and Yuya hopped over to him, throwing his arms around Yuto’s neck. “Yuto~” he chimed before giving him a sweet kiss.
Yuto melted into it, his arms wrapping gently around Yuya’s waist. He was sweaty, but Yuto didn’t care in the slightest.
That being said…
“Yuya,” he mumbled against his lips, “Your stretches.”
Yuya sighed, then leaned back in Yuto’s arms to look at him. “Yeah… you’re right… but honestly, I still feel like dancing,” he laughed. He kissed Yuto’s cheek then pulled him onto the floor with him. “Yuto, dance with me!”
Yuto hesitated as he stumbled forward with Yuya. “Ahh… I’m not much of a dancer…” he admitted shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. “The extent of my stage performance comes from swaying and pivoting, mostly.” His focus was on his guitar, after all. Any kind of prancing around the stage was left to Ruri.
Yuya grinned. “You said you weren’t much of a singer either, but I heard you at karaoke,” he teased, tapping the end of Yuto’s nose with his finger.
“That’s–” he blushed. “That’s not the same. I certainly couldn’t do what you do. A routine like that…”
Yuya shrugged. “Then let’s not do a routine. Come on! Dancing is just about moving your body. You danced with me at the after party of our concert, remember?” he grinned.
Yuto made an awkward sort of laugh, “Yes, well, post-concert euphoria is a whole different thing…”
Yuya snatched up the remote Yuzu used to control the music, then swapped it to a song Yuya was more practiced in. He bounced on his heels and took one of Yuto’s hands in his. “Come on!! I’ll go off book too,” he winked as he bounced and swayed more freely to the beat.
Yuto couldn’t help but chuckle at Yuya's antics and the way he seemed to almost unconsciously start to sing the lyrics to his song. He still felt a bit awkward, but he couldn’t help but be swept up in Yuya’s rhythm, starting to sway and bounce a little himself.
Yuya’s dancing wasn’t precise or measured in any sense in that moment, he was completely free as he bopped and bounced and shimmied, completely caught up in the music, pulling Yuto along with him. He lifted Yuto’s arm up over his head and did a little spin as he continued to sing.
One song melded into two and then two into three and by then, Yuto’s nerves had completely worn off. The way they danced together was messy and imprecise, but… it was fun. The way they spun together and laughed together, it was pure bliss.
In a moment like this, they could forget all their worries and all the challenges that lay ahead of them and just truly… be.
When the song came to a close, Yuya let himself collapse against Yuto’s chest, panting and laughing and he nuzzled against him.
At that moment, there was only one thing Yuto could think to say. “I love you, Yuya.”
Yuya’s gaze when he looked up at him was so tender, Yuto could feel his heart fluttering in his chest. “I love you too, Yuto…” and he leaned up to kiss him.
Yuto cupped his cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb as they shared sweet kisses, the time around them slow.
In the background, he could hear Yuya’s lyricless tracks playing as they swapped from one to another, finally reaching a softer ballad.
“You know…” Yuto whispered, his eyes cracking open a bit to look into Yuya’s. “There is one dance I know how to do…”
“Oh?”
Gently, he took Yuya’s hand in his, letting his other slide to rest on the small of Yuya’s back. “Do you know how to waltz, Yuya?”
Yuya blinked. “Um… I don’t think I’ve done one. You know that kind of dance?”
Yuto nodded and he blushed. “Yes… well… Ruri showed me how… Back in high school. She… said if I was going to learn one dance, it should be this one… So I’d be ready for my wedding one day.”
Yuya’s cheeks tinted pink at the comment, but he smiled. “Are you going to show me, Yuto?” his cheeks burned a bit dark and he glanced away a little shyly before adding. “Maybe… I should practice that dance too.”
Yuto’s heart began to race and he couldn’t help but smile. “Can you follow my lead?”
Yuya placed his hand on Yuto’s shoulder and nodded.
“I’m going to step forward with my left, then you step back with your right,” he explained as he did so, Yuya following the instruction, “Now step to the side with your left,” he encouraged as they did so. “Feet together… then you step forward and I step back.”
As expected, Yuya picked up on the basic box step incredibly quickly.
Soon, they were adding in the turns on their side step and flowing together beautifully on the dance floor as they moved.
There was a sparkle in Yuya’s eyes as he kept his gaze on him as they danced, gentle and warm and full of love and happiness.
Yuto knew that Yuya had made a very tough decision to be with him. The abuse he would have to endure from betrayed fans had no guarantee of reaching an ending and there was no promise that he would be able to keep his career at the end of all this… but Yuya didn’t seem scared at all. He hadn’t once hesitated since he made that announcement.
His Yuya was beautiful and strong… Hopeful and optimistic… and Yuto vowed that he would do anything he could to support him. He would weather any storm to keep him by his side and then maybe one day… they would be able to use this waltz together in another setting.
Once the song came to a close, they stopped and rested their foreheads together. This peaceful, wonderful moment was one that was all their own.
Then Yuya let out a soft huff of laughter. “I… should probably do my cooldown stretches, huh?”
Yuto laughed. “Probably.”