Some Time Off

3

~~~Haruki's POV~~~

I wake up and reach over to check my phone, oh right, I had turned it off for the night. I start turning it on and get up to go make a cup of coffee. My mind is racing thinking about last night. I should have just gone to the show with him instead of being passive aggressive about it. Music is really important to him so why do I feel bad about him spending so much time on it. Once the coffee is ready I pour a cup and go sit back down on my bed. Now that the phone is on, I see all the missed calls and text from Akihiko. I take a deep breath and start listening to the messages. After that I open the text,

do you have time to meet up tomorrow?

We usually meet up after shows without asking, what could this mean? We need to talk anyway, I just hope this is for the better and doesn't end with us breaking up. Not after all we went through to get together and make this work. I check the time and realize I'm going to be late for work so I quickly get ready and head out for my shift. On the walk there I quick reply Yes, my place for dinner? and it only takes a minute for his response, I'll be there.

~~~

I'm finishing up cooking when I hear a knock on my door, "it's unlocked" I say and I hear the door open.

"Hey." Akihiko takes off his jacket and shoes and walks over to me, "smells good."

"Thanks..." the atmosphere is really awkward knowing we have serious things to talk about, but it's better to just try and be normal for now... He sits at the table while I finish up cooking and bring the food over. "So, how'd the show go?"

He thinks for a moment, "oh, it went well, nothing too spectacular though, just the usual."

"Oh, that's good..." I told myself I could handle it and wait for him to bring it up, but it's making me worry too much, "what did we need to talk about?"

"Oh, that..." He leans back in his chair and sighs, "things have been weird lately."

I'd say so, "what about it?"

"I feel like we're drifting apart, between both our jobs, we never have the time or energy to do things together," he has this sad look on his face and I cant help but feel the urge to go comfort him, but now is definitely not the time. 

"I've noticed too, but what can we do about it? Music is a huge part of your life I don't expect you to just give that up, and you know it's hard for me to get my schedule adjusted since the café is understaffed..." Ever since someone quit and no one has been hired, I've had to pick up a lot of extra shifts, giving up most of my free time.

"That's the problem, what can we do? I want this to work out, I'm not giving up on us."

"But how can we fix things if we don't have the time?"

"... I'll take a break from music."

"What do you mean a break, you cant just stop playing and expect things to be fine."

"If it's to spend more time with you, it's worth it. I wont stop practicing, but we can stop performing for a while."

"What if you lose your spot in the orchestra?"

"I'll work my way back up then, I did it once I can do it again."

"I don't want you to throw away all your hard work for me, besides even if you make more time, there's no guarantee that I'll be able to take off."

"Are you going to work at that café forever? What about your dream job?"

"There's a reason it's a dream job, it's just not realistic."

"But you were a film major for a reason."

"It's not that easy to find a film career..." Believe me, I've tried.

"The band is hoping to film a music video, you could help with that."

"How would that make money, it'd just be you paying me."

"But I know you'll do an amazing job, and maybe other bands will hire you too, you can do photo shoots too I know you can do that."

"Ok ok, I'll look for other jobs, but I cant just quit now."

"Maybe not quit, but why don't we go on a vacation for a bit, relax a while. It doesn't need to be long, just something to get closer to each other again and spend some time together." He pulls something out of his pocket. It's a pair of tickets. "Please say yes, I already bought these. It's only for a weekend and not too far away."

"I- when is it?" Is this why he wanted to talk? Was he planning this the whole time?

"Whenever you want, whenever you can get the time off."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do." I pull out my phone to text my supervisor at work, asking for a weekend off and wait for a reply, "and Akihiko?"

"Hm?" He's sitting forward in his chair, obviously excited. Even though he may seem like a tough guy on the outside, he's so easy to read.

"Thank you." I stand up to clear our plates, giving him a quick kiss as I walk to the kitchen to clean up.