The weather had turned cold in a flash. One day it had been late summer, the next they had moved straight into fall.

Shun inhaled the scent of his coffee. He’d ducked into a café on the way to rehearsal, since he’d had a bit of time. He took a sip, letting the taste wash over his tongue. For a moment, he closed his eyes.

 

As he opened them again, he sent a glare in his company’s direction. “And? Why’re you here anyway?”

Makki laughed over his drink. “Aw come on, it’s been ages since I last saw you! I just wanted to hang out for a minute.”

Shun sighed, fighting the urge to pout and sink deeper in his seat. He was too old to be so childish (even though fighting the urge became harder when around his old groupmates).

“Fine.”

Makki smiled, leaning forward in his seat. He’d grown taller since they were at Hollywood Tokyo together, and to Shun’s frustration, he couldn’t help but find him annoyingly handsome these days. The goofy smile on his face didn’t do much to put a damper on it.

“So what’re you up to? I saw you’ve got a performance coming up.”

Shun took a slow drink from his coffee. “Planning a small tour this winter.”

“Cool! Lemme know when and I’ll swing by.”

Shun played with his straw, watching Makki’s earnest expression. He’d kept semi-close tabs on his old friends, so he knew that Makki had just as booked a schedule as he did. They didn’t see each other much anymore, all spread out across the entertainment industry.

Maybe it’d be fun to hang out post-performance again. It had been a few years since last time.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. “If you’re too annoying I’ll tell you to leave though.”

Makki laughed, picking his cream soda back up (ice cream in this weather?). “Do you tell that to all the girls or am I special?”

Shun had half a mind to change his mind. But in the end, he didn’t.

A small part of him had missed his banter with Makki.

As stupid as he himself thought that sounded.

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