We left the second audition in Yokohama with another offer in hand. I was surprised, though I was expectant, and I felt like I had been able to move the universe alone to manifest the offers. I thought that I could expect an offer from every audition within the two weeks, but I reminded myself to continue to be humble. Guardian had done their part long before our worlds had collided. They were seasoned, and they knew how to impress any audience.

Aki and I were the only ones left in the living room after we had returned to the house to cook dinner and eat together. It was a practice that we had the luxury of only during the Christmas break at Aki's house, and I enjoyed the change of pace and extra chance to be a family. Aki had put the news on the TV and we drank tea until one by one, the other members of Guardian slipped away into their rooms for the night.

I was nearly asleep when Aki draped a blanket over me. "Look at this message that Yamada just sent me." He said, sitting heavily beside me and offering me his phone. "The label is offering me an opportunity to arrange some Guardian songs for classical."

My eyes were out of focus, and I squinted to try to read the screen. "That sounds like an amazing opportunity."

"If we stay with them, then I'll take it. If we don't, I'll suggest it to the new label." He leaned back into the couch, and I realized how tired he looked. "It's a good way to expand our demographic. And it sounds like a lot of fun."

I leaned back against him, and he arranged us so we could lay together under the blanket. My back was pressed into the back of the couch, and my arms draped effortlessly over Aki. He held me close, tight. "It's such a strange concept that a song can belong to a person." I said in my sleepy daze. "Music gets played, and it's in the air. It's not a physical thing."

I felt him breathe a laugh across my skin, his lips gently pressed into my forehead. "This is something I've thought about for a long time." His voice was quiet and low, as if he knew I was fully ready to give in to sleep.

"Good morning." I heard a voice and opened my eyes to almost complete darkness, realizing my head was fully covered with the blanket. Either I had pulled it over my head during the night, or Aki had done it by accident. I could see sunlight filtering through, but only barely, and I wondered if Aki had covered me to protect my eyes from the light as the sun was rising. We had spent the whole night unmoving on the couch, and it was the first night in a long time that I could recall Aki having slept uninterrupted.

I heard Aki's voice answer. "Oh, good morning." He said. "I slept through the whole night." He had made the same observation, sounding equally surprised.

"Why are you out here?" I recognized the voice as Fuji. He was usually the first one awake to begin making coffee and breakfast. "Did she kick you out?"

Aki laughed. "No, of course not. She's under the blanket." I kept my eyes closed as I felt Aki pull the blanket down to reveal just the top of my head. Just enough to prove that I was present. "Why are you guys suspecting the worst of me all of a sudden?"

His voice was still quiet, but I could tell he was genuinely insulted. "I'm not sure." Fuji admitted. "You know how the mind just settles on the first most obvious outcome. She doesn't cry like that when we're all together at your house. It was the first time we had heard it happen, and she cried for a long time. It sounded like you were just letting her cry."

"I was." I was trying desperately to stay relaxed as if I was still asleep, but I knew that Aki would instantly feel the change in my body. "I was letting her cry, because that's what she needed to do. But I didn't make her cry. I didn't leave her alone. I was holding her the whole time, using the shirt I was wearing as a tissue."

"I'm sorry, my friend." Fuji said. "I know I didn't have any reason to doubt you." There was a beat of silence as I felt Aki shift slightly, and I thought he must have been shaking Fuji's hand in a sign that he accepted the apology. "I'm going to get coffee started. Another big day today."

Aki settled back in, holding me closer. "Aki?"

"Yes my love?" He didn't miss a beat, and it confirmed my suspicion that he knew I had been awake.

I knew what it meant to Aki to express his feelings about me to Fuji, to tell him that he had been a hero to me that night. Aki was reserved with his acts of heroics, and he was humble if someone called him out on them. It felt as though there was a puppet master working in the background somewhere, spreading false information that was all too easy to believe. Aki and I hadn't been reached with it yet, the truth hadn't fully emerged. I wondered if my grandiose theory was right. Everyone was acting just a little too off. I had enough experience with fake emotions to recognize it, especially on the people who I called my family. I decided I would start asking more questions, at least for Aki's sake.

"I love you. Thank you." I thanked him for that night, for giving me space, for using his shirt to wipe my face, but I didn't need to say it all.

He laughed outright. I had caught him off-guard, expecting me to say something entirely different. "I love you, Natsu."