For a nice change, Tetsu's head was against my chest as we sat watching TV. I pressed him to me, my arm around him, my other hand playing gently with his fingers as we watched a morning program. We'd just eaten breakfast, and soon a nurse would come to take my after breakfast blood test. I'd had one when I woke up, too. I recognized the routine from long ago. They wanted to check my hormone counts before and after I ate to see how they fluctuated with stimulus.

He sighed happily, his fingers intertwining with mine. I returned the sigh, relieved to be the one giving affection for once. I felt good enough to do this. I wanted to do it more. He deserved to be the one adored, having attention showered on him. In my arms, it felt like I was protecting him, like he was the safest he could be. Just like how he made me feel all the time.

Maybe the nurse would never come, and we could stay like this all day. I could wish.

I started to rub his back, and he sighed again, his hand squeezing mine.

A familiar ring tone started up, one of Yellow Lizard's greatest hits, a song called Melodramatic Madam. Tetsu jumped up. My immediate response was to tighten my arm around him. He chuckled at this, rubbing his cheek on my chest.

"Keitaro can wait," he said, getting back into his happy position.

"You can answer it, I just don't want to stop holding you," I explained.

He made a deeply touched sound. "He must be calling, because I said I'm in Tokyo on my blog last night. Maybe he wants to meet up. I don't want to go anywhere."

I rubbed his back. He extended his arm to our left and nudged my purse closer. I brought it the rest of the way, and he hurriedly opened it on the bed. He brought his cellphone out and answered it in what sounded like just in time. He accepted the video call.

"Hello, we're both here!" Tetsu announced to him, joy in his voice.

"I hope a video call is alright!" Keitaro called out. He seemed to be walking down the street hurriedly in a busy area with lots of shops, people passing by. He had on big black sunglasses and a light tan colored coat. It looked cloudy, like it could rain any second.

"It's great!" Tetsu grinned. I saw him in the small icon at the corner of the video. It warmed my heart. He was angling it in a way where you could see both of our faces.

"Hi, Sana-chan!" Keitaro grinned back. I blushed.

"What's going on?" Tetsu asked.

"You two look cozy. Still in the hospital? I was going to come over there, but I realized I don't really know where you are. I wanted to talk to you about the contract. Remember, I said to come up to Tokyo to sign it? Well, here you are! I thought it would be convenient to do so. My bosses want you to come in to sign it, but I thought we could talk about it. It sounded like everything's okay, so I thought it might be appropriate. What do you think?"

Tetsu's mouth dropped open. "Yes! Wow, yes! Absolutely! I can't believe I didn't put two and two together. It would be very appropriate! I want to get the ball rolling!"

Keitaro nodded, totally not paying attention to where he was going, all of his focus on us. "I know you want to get a lawyer to look over things first, so we can do that. Give me a few days. But, I know the contract is clean, if that means anything. I helped negotiate it myself. I said your family is the most important, so that is your first priority. They were very understanding. I have that in my contract, too. It's stated in a few ways in that regard. That's just one example. It gives you a lot of control, over the content of the album, who you can work with, things of that nature. It's really innovative in some ways. But, we can talk about it more when I get there. Where are you?"

Tetsu told him, grinning so much, and he nodded eagerly. "I'm nearby. I really was on my way there, and I thought, 'wait, I don't know where in the hospital they are'. So, I wanted to call. Are things going alright? I know sometimes you sugarcoat. That's not a bad thing, it's a good way to protect yourself, but I wanted to make sure I'm not intruding."

In the background, two people twirled around, pointing at him and covering their mouths. I hid a laugh. Tetsu noticed this, though. "Uh oh. You just got recognized. We saw in the camera," Tetsu gasped. "Jump into a cab. I'll let a nurse know you're coming."

"What? But I'm wearing my biggest sunglasses," Keitaro chuckled, clearly joking.

"Such a great disguise," Tetsu laughed with him.

Keitaro composed himself. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute. We'll talk about it. Who do you usually get to look over your contracts? Contact them. I can get you a copy of it soon and we can fax over a copy to them, too."

"Sounds great. I'll do that. Thank you so much again."

As Tetsu thanked him, Keitaro raised a hand and waved it in front of his face. "Don't thank me. We're friends."

"I know, but-"

"No, no. I won't accept a thank you."

Tetsu grinned again, making my heart beat faster. He was so beautiful in the tiny square of our camera video. He looked so relaxed and happy. "Okay, fine. We'll be waiting for you. I'll let a nurse know."

"Okay! I'll get a cab. See you in a bit! Bye, Sana-chan!" He waved, still striding boldly down the sidewalk without a pause in his gait.

"Bye," I said, so shy.

Tetsu waved to him, and hung up. He tossed the phone in my purse, and I set it back on my bedside table. Both of my arms tightly wrapped around him, and he closed his eyes, grinning so much. He was the most beautiful being in the world, even in the harsh hospital light, so happy he could burst.

We continued watching the TV, and I heard him sigh in joy several times. I couldn't stop smiling.

The nurse came and went, and the blood test was as easy as it had been earlier. Keitaro showed up, no problem at all. He brought some gift fruit, and Tetsu was overjoyed at this.

"No gifts, we're friends," Tetsu mocked him, but grinning so much despite it.

"It's strawberries. I know how much you like strawberries," Keitaro laughed, moving the package in circles in the air tauntingly. I made a mental note about this. I hadn't known Tetsu likes strawberries so much. Immediately, I thought about feeding them to him and blush flooded my face. I tried to think about something else.

"I'll take them, I'm joking," Tetsu said eagerly, extending his hands to him. Keitaro smiled and handed them over. Tetsu immediately opened the package with a snapping sound and brought one to his mouth, making my blush deepen. The beauty of the large, dewy, red strawberry against his full lips... It was impossible for my brain not to go to a certain place.

I laid my head on his shoulder, gazing up at him adoringly. His arm went around me, and I settled in.

"Down to business." Keitaro leaned in, so serious. "Have you thought about what you want to create? I know things have been busy, so I'm not anxious. I know how professional you are, too. Have you spoken to Lyra?"

There was a pause, and then Tetsu made a choking, coughing sound. Immediately, I looked up, concern all over my face.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Keitaro asked.

Tetsu nodded, and I relaxed. "It's just," he said, coughing a little bit again. "I just realized something awful."

"What is it?" Keitaro asked.

"Lyra!" Tetsu's hand went over half his face. "They're fighting!"

Oh crap. He was right. I pressed my lips together.

"They'll never work together," he continued. "Their drummer did an awful thing. He apologized to Sana and I, but not to them. I can't see how they'd reconcile. What should I do?" This last bit was directed towards himself, quieter.

I gazed up at his crestfallen face. I had to do something. I breathed out. "This is bigger than our problems with each other. Yami explained what happened before to us. That part is over. Everything they were mad about is over. If he apologizes to them like he apologized to you, then maybe it will be okay. This is an amazing opportunity. The musicians in them will never let them pass it up."

"You think so?" Tetsu asked, hopeful.

I nodded. "Yes. Let's talk to Yami about it. He can be stubborn, but he won't pass this up. It's always been his dream to go major."

"Ah, yes, his mother said he wanted to be like X Japan." Keitaro covered his mouth a little bit, smiling, clearly recollecting.

"What?" I laughed.

"You were asleep," Tetsu chuckled. "Keitaro met her."

"I don't think she knew who I was, though. It was kind of a relief."

"Well, she knows who you are now. We talked about you."

Keitaro looked amused. "I have an idea." He held up his finger, his other hand grabbing at his pocket. "Why don't we call him now? Do you know if he's working right now? That way, he can think about it as soon as possible. We can 'get the ball rolling', as you said."

"He's probably working, but he'll drop everything for this," I assured, smiling so much. "He might even walk out of work."

Keitaro hid his mouth behind his hand, so pleased, chuckling. "There's no need for that. What's his number?"

I told him. He got up and leaned in close to me, making me blush again, getting us all in frame of the camera on his phone. "Here goes nothing," he said, swiping the call button.

In no time, the sound of banging answered us. Yami, wearing a hard hat and a white t-shirt covered in dirt, peered curiously at his phone, and his eyes widened. "Oh, hello! What number is this? What- wait, let me go somewhere quieter. What's going on? My boss knows I have family stuff going on, so I can take this call. Hold on." He started walking away, the background full of raw dirt and neat piles of cut wood. He gestured to someone at his left with four fingers held up, and walked more briskly.

He climbed the stairs of a white trailer building. Seeing this part of his work interested me. I'd never seen it before. He opened the door and went inside. Immediately, with the door closed, the noise was dampened. He sat down. "Okay, what's going on? Hi. Hello, Keitaro-san. What a surprise."

"Hello, yourself," he said, smiling warmly in our tiny part of the picture. "We called to let you know that we're making a mini album, and we want you in it."

"Whoa, so quick!" Tetsu burst out, starting to laugh.

Yami's eyes went huge. "Wait- whaaat? Yellow Lizard is?"

"Well, Tetsu and I am. Let me explain. My company, Fleeting World Entertainment, wants Tetsu and Lyra to collaborate. I'll be at the helm, producing the mini-album. I'll also be playing piano in it, if that's what everyone decides-"

"Of course you can play piano in it! I wouldn't have it any other way!" Tetsu gasped.

Keitaro chuckled again, so pleased. "So, we wanted to tell you and congratulate you. We wanted you to think about it."

As they were speaking, Yami's face didn't look as excited as I'd hoped. His mouth was slightly open, and he stared blankly at the camera.

"Yami..." I said quietly, concerned. My tone changed things. Tetsu didn't look as excited anymore.

Yami shook his head slightly, giving us a small smile. It appeared sad to me. "I'm sorry, but I can't go back to them. You know how things ended. They'll never talk to me. If you want me to play drums, I'm happy to, you know I am, but with them? They'll never agree. You're better off getting a different drummer. I know a few...but you probably know people who are way more famous. I'll just cause problems."

"I'll talk to them," I said quickly, hoping he wouldn't hang up. "They have to agree. It's all we've ever wanted. Remember?" This last word was softer. Trying to appeal to him.

His eyes went softer at this, matching my tone. He looked down, thinking.

Keitaro picked up on this. "I heard the story from Sana-san. About what happened before. There's no hard feelings. I want to give you the opportunity again. I believed in you back then, and I believe in you now. It's rare to get a second opportunity in life. Prove to Fleeting World that you've got the chops. You never know what could happen."

Yami only looked more troubled. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember that," he sighed.

Keitaro shook his head. "It only made me want to give you this opportunity even more. It's going to be great."

Yami nodded, still unsure. "So, what's the plan, then? You said it's with you and Tetsu? What about Sana?"

"We'll talk about it. Fleeting World definitely wants Tetsu to sing, but this all started with the idea of a duet between them. There's the possibility of that."

Yami breathed out slowly. "Good, because I want to play for Sana. No offense, Tetsu."

Tetsu waved his hand in front of his face a little bit. "I understand that. You will be. In fact, I want Sana to help write the songs. I've always admired his arrangements."

Yami looked relieved. "I want to play your arrangements again, Sana. I miss them. The drums are always so complex. They stimulate my brain."

I blushed. It was all moving so quickly. Me, arrange songs on a major mini album? No way. I couldn't comprehend it. And for Tetsu? And Keitaro? It sounded impossible. My mind started going a million miles per minute.

Tetsu squeezed me, and my lips pressed together, my eyes wide.

Yami laughed. "From the look on your face, I can tell they haven't told you that part."

I shook my head. "We haven't discussed it much."

"Sorry, I was going to tell you," Tetsu grinned. "I've been thinking about it."

"I want to know more," I sighed, happily, my mind filling with images of us in a music studio, Tetsu at the microphone like I'd seen in videos of him before. My mind was running away, and I was letting it for once. Such a strange new hope.

"So do I!" Keitaro said, looking at Tetsu. "Tell me your ideas!"

Tetsu laughed. "I will. But, first we need to get Lyra together. Let's think of a way to do this."

There that sad expression was again. Yami gave that same, small smile. "Talk to them about it and see what they think, then tell me. I can't be the one to call them first. I know Nobu especially won't talk to me. I'm sorry for what I did, but he was in the wrong, too. We're all adults, I know we can talk about this maturely, but it's going to take a lot."

"I'll call them each individually. They'll listen to me," I tried to assure him. "I'm in Tokyo for the time being. Maybe we can get together and talk."

Yami shook his head, and my stomach fell. "Shizue is in Okinawa, visiting family. I read it on her blog."

I tightened my resolve. "I'll call her, then. If we can all meet, I can have her on the phone with us. She'll do anything for me, I know that. She told me as much. It's going to be okay." I was telling myself this just as much as I was to him.

"Okay," he agreed, giving me that hope again. "Let me know how it all goes. I'm excited for this, but worried about Lyra. I wouldn't put all of your eggs in one basket for this."

Tetsu nodded, and I followed his lead. "We'll call them all this evening, after they got off work."

Yami gave a true smile, making me smile, too. "No, inconvenience them, too! That's not fair, you called me at work! Why am I different?" Relief was in his voice. He was joking with me, giving me relief in my heart, too. So, he was happy about this, just cautious. It made me glad.

I laughed, and this caused ease, making Tetsu and Keitaro laugh, too. "Because you're special!" I said, louder than I meant to. But, it deserved to be loud and proud. It was the truth. "This is your dream! You want to go major. Now's our chance!"

He grinned so much, further gladdening my heart. It was so wonderful. "Things are finally coming together, huh?" He said, so genuinely happy.

"They are," I said, smiling back.

He started laughing, just too happy to contain himself. We laughed with him, so happy, too.

He was right. Things really were finally coming together. It was worth the wait and hardship. We could do something amazing, if we only cooperated together. Now the real work had to begin. As we all enjoyed the moment, my brain went to the task at hand. Talking to Lyra. A small twinge of worry pricked the joy, but seeing everyone's happy faces made that worry go right away.