"Otoya, you're two notes off."

"Eh? I thought I was doing fine."

Tokiya stood up, tapping his foot repeatedly.

"This is going to be our first duet together so I really
want it to be perfect. Now sing this measure again,"
pointing to a part which Ittoki has been repeating
over and over for the past 30 minutes.

"Ai~shi- shite-ru.." Ittoki was stopped as Tokiya
slammed a roll of sheet music on to his head.

"Oww..."

"Now it's worse than before! Why do you always
have to mess up just this single line?"

"I'm sorry," tears starting to build up on Ittoki's eyes, "I
can't concentrate, neither sing it properly when
you're near me."

"What? Now that's just a lame excuse."

"But it's true. I swear. When I practiced with Masa
yesterday, I was able to sing it perfectly. Now I just
feel really anxious."

"I'll get out then-"

Just as Tokiya turned to reach for the door, Ittoki
held on to his shirt, tugging him gently.

"Please... don't go. Stay here. I know I can work this
out. It's our duet afterall."

With Tokiya's back turned, Ittoki hugged him from
behind and rested his head on Tokiya's right
shoulder.

"Stay. Just like this," Ittoki whispered into his ear.

Tokiya reached onto the arms that wrapped his
waist tightly and caressed them. He then played
with Ittoki's fingers until the tension lowered and he
relaxed. Tokiya intertwined their fingers, turned his
body and faced Ittoki with a caring smile.

"I won't go anywhere." Tokiya whispered back.

"Tokiya, I-"

Tokiya suddenly leaned in to kiss him, leaving Ittoki's
sentence unfinished. Not too strong, or forceful, just
a sweet little peck on the lips. Letting go of Ittoki's
hands, Tokiya gently placed his palms on each side
of Ittoki's head then slowly deepened the kiss. This
went on for awhile until the two lost control of their
breath.

Tokiya wrapped his arms around Ittoki's head and
held him close to his chest.

"Tokiya," Ittoki spoke slowly, almost a whimper, "Did
you just- Did we just-"

Tokiya once again interrupted him with a soft kiss.
"Think of this as a sweet dream."

"I can't! Thinking you did this for me, just to calm me
down, but it became worse! My heart is pounding
faster than before."

Tokiya pulled Ittoki's head closer to his chest.

"Do you hear it? Do you feel it? This rythm that
matches with yours."

"Tokiya..."

"It's the same feeling you have. This strong, fast,
heart beats that are too difficult to surpress.
Stop being selfish... thinking you're the only one."

Both remained silent, never saying a single word for
a few minutes until Ittoki decided to break the
silence.

"Should we go back to practicing?"

"Yes. I think we shouldn's waste time."

"I wouldn't call spending time with you a waste, but
oh well."

Both went back to practice and sang harmoniously,
until Ittoki's part.

"Ai~shiteruuu..."

"I love you too," whispered back Tokiya.

/to be continued/