Satellite

“If he’s half as handsome as I remember, it should be a good night,” Suga mumbled as he hauled himself out of bed. He was excited to spend the night with Asahi, sure, but he couldn’t help look forward to seeing whether or not Daichi measured up to the man he remembered from all those years ago. In front of the bathroom mirror, he smoothed his clothes and hair and took a couple deep breaths as he psyched himself up for another day of attempting to put his life together. He put on his best smile, walked out of the bathroom to grab his shoulder bag, and left the apartment with a spring in his step.

After a morning of dropping off resumes, empty promises of follow-ups, more than a few failed attempts at reaching out to people looking for roommates, and an afternoon pity party that revolved around his dwindling bank account and utter lack of inspiration, he sat on a bench outside the local grocery store with his head in his hands. He repeated ‘tomorrow’s another day,’ to himself until the words seemed less like words and more like ambient noise. It was a good twenty minutes before he summoned the motivation to enter the grocery store and face the world again.

Suga surveyed the aisles at the grocery store and checked the recipe he pulled up on his phone. It was still early fall, but the autumn winds had already picked up and made him crave something warm and filling. He knew Asahi would appreciate a hearty soup after a long afternoon of wrangling the children in his after-school program. He envisioned children hanging off Asahi’s limbs like monkeys in a forest and the image made him laugh aloud.

A hearty soup will also be good for energy tonight, he thought as he threw vegetables into his basket. He never had any interest in cooking when it was just for himself, but, cooking for someone else was a different matter. After the first few times he cooked dinner for Asahi, he fell in love with the feeling, like he had more to offer than met the eye, like he could take care of the people he loved.

Suga left the store and started in the direction of Asahi’s apartment building. He cradled the bundle of groceries to his chest and bit the inside of his lip as he recalled the events of the day he met Daichi.

Suga had walked out of the financial aid office that morning with a heavy heart and had decided that he wouldn’t be attending school the next semester, or the semester after that, and that he would leave all together. Sobs had wracked his body as he cried into Asahi’s chest. Eventually, when his tears dried up, he had begged Asahi to take him to a bar. Asahi’s burly appearance meant that it was relatively easy for him to get into bars despite being underage, and, given the circumstances, Suga had no problem taking advantage of it.

They picked a bar at random and, when the two of them showed up, there was a small area cleared of tables and set up with a monitor and two microphones, which only meant one thing: they had dropped in on karaoke night. Suga had been plotting a way to get Asahi to sing when his friend grabbed his arm and pointed to the stage. Asahi had recognized the two guys holding microphones and pointed them out to Suga. Daichi was the shorter one with the cropped hair who played intramural volleyball with him and Kuroo, the taller one with at least 3 inches of spiked hair, was his boyfriend.

Suga toed off his shoes when he entered the empty apartment and started dinner, returning to his thoughts as he sorted through the groceries, chopped vegetables, and readied the stovetop.

Kuroo was an incredibly handsome guy with great stage presence, but, for whatever reason, Suga couldn’t tear his eyes away from the guy Asahi pointed out as Daichi. He had been laughing at something Kuroo said and Suga was mesmerized; he loved how Daichi's smile was just slightly lopsided, how his laugh rolled through him and made his shoulders shake. Daichi saw Asahi in the crowd and waved. When he and Suga locked eyes, Suga had thought, for the briefest of moments, that maybe the thing that could save him was standing awkwardly on a stage waiting to sing some stupid karaoke song. Kuroo put his arm around Daichi’s neck and whispered in his ear. The intimacy of the action had made Suga look down at the table. Why would someone be interested in him when they could be with a guy like Kuroo? Suga looked up at the stage when he heard Asahi laugh next to him. Kuroo was pointing to the monitor with a grin and Daichi had looked like he was going to throw up.

“Smells good!” Asahi said, startling Suga out of his reverie.

Suga grabbed the closest spoon and raised it toward his friend like he intended to duel with it. “Back! Back I say!”

Asahi jumped back with his hands in the air. “Okay! I’m back! Are you almost done? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes, it’s almost done and no, I’ve got it covered. Just sit yourself down and I’ll bring you a bowl.” Asahi tried to protest, so Suga help up the spoon and glared until Asahi sat down at the table. Once the meal was served, Suga sat down and they shared stories from their day before going over plans for the evening.

“Is there anyone else coming?” Suga asked.

“Possibly, but I didn’t think to ask. Daichi usually coordinates these things.”

“Huh. Is he a control freak or something?”

Asahi looked offended by Suga’s question. “Not at all,” he said, “I think he just likes bringing people together.”

“Ah,” Suga replied. “Don’t mind me, I’m a jerk,” he said as he looked down at his empty bowl. He wondered if he would ever reach a point in his life when he wouldn’t automatically assume the worst of people.

Asahi got up with his bowl, put Suga’s on top, and put his free hand on Suga’s shoulder. “Hey, you’re not a jerk. You just,” Asahi searched for the right words, “you’ve just been taking care of yourself all this time. It’s fine. I’ll wash dishes, and then we’ll get ready to go?”

Suga put his hand on top of Asahi’s and smiled up at his friend. “Perfect. I’ll go get dressed and call a cab.”

The cab came and took them to the bar. Once they were inside the building, Asahi took advantage of his height to scan the crowd for Daichi.

“I don’t see him. I guess we didn’t need to leave the house so early,” Asahi glowered. “I’m sorry.”

Suga rolled his eyes, took off his scarf, and whipped it at Asahi’s arm. “No negative Asahi tonight!”

Asahi shrunk a little but managed a smile.

“Heh. I’m smiling, see?” Asahi pointed to his face and then to the bar. “Drinks?”

Suga’s face brightened considerably. A drink would soothe his nerves. My nerves? “Yes. Drinks are in order. I’m buying.”

Asahi started to speak but Suga cut him off. “No ‘buts’! You’ve been letting me stay in your apartment all this time. Beer? Stay by the entrance and wait, I’ll be back in a sec.”

Asahi nodded and took his post. Suga pushed through the crowd and made it to the bar where he flagged the bartender.

“Can I get whatever lager you have on tap and a gin and tonic?”

The bartender, a scruffy-looking guy with blonde hair and a headband, not unlike the one Asahi used to wear, nodded in Suga’s direction and started on the drinks. Suga looked around. He saw the stage set up near the back of the building and remembered that Asahi mentioned a band would be performing.

When the bartender handed him the drinks, he motioned to the stage and asked who was playing.

“You’re here and you don’t know?”

Suga shook his head ‘no.’

“We booked some local hot-shot band to play tonight. The Court. I don’t much care for them, but we’re trying to get more local music. Brings people in.” The bartender looked to the other end of the bar where someone else vied for his attention.

Suga paid and left a couple dollars on the bar. “Ah. Thanks!”

When the bartender turned around, Suga turned as well. He was excited by the prospect of seeing a local band. He didn’t have much experience with music, but he appreciated the talent it took to put together a song and often wondered about setting his own poetry to music. He imagined it was the most amazing feeling, to be able to watch someone pour their heart and talent into your words.

He made his way back to Asahi but stopped when he saw that Asahi was no longer alone. His friend was facing him and the other guy had his back turned. The guy was shorter than Asahi, but looked just as strong. He had on a t-shirt, which gave Suga a spine-tingling view of his muscular back, wide shoulders, and narrow waist. His arms were tanned nicely and moved around as he spoke. Suga stood on his tip-toes to catch of glimpse of his ass, which did not disappoint. Suga came down on his heels and brought his eyes up to the back of his head. The short, dark hair made Suga think -

“Suga! Over here!” Asahi waved and the other guy turned to look with a big, lopsided smile. Suga’s suspicions were confirmed and butterflies erupted in his stomach. He moved as quickly as he could to join the group.

After what seemed like an eternity of getting bumped around by strangers, Suga passed Asahi his beer, who sipped off the top to avoid further spilling, and nodded at Daichi before taking a sip of his own drink. Suga cursed to himself, the guy was a thousand times more handsome than he remembered. Daichi’s teeth peeked through his parted lips and Suga noticed the slightest smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. His hair was short but just a little wild and Suga gripped the side of his pants to restrain himself from reaching out to run his fingers through it.

Daichi clapped Asahi on the shoulder. “You didn’t tell me Suga was the friend that you invited!” Daichi ran his eyes over Suga’s face like he was trying desperately to commit every detail to memory. Suga was used to these appraising looks, but there was something different about Daichi’s gaze. His dark brown eyes were soft and wide, like he stumbled upon something that he didn’t expect and it was better than he dreamed it would be. “Suga, you let your hair grow out a little. It’s nice. I mean, you look great. Really great.” He paused. “Wait, do you remember me?”

“How could I forget such a memorable rendition of ‘A Whole New World’?” Suga said with a grin as he caught the straw of his drink.

Asahi choked on his sip of beer.

Daichi cringed. “I was sort of hoping you’d remember every other part of the evening and conveniently forget about the actual singing.”

“I’m not sure memory works like that,” Asahi managed to squeak between peals of laughter.

“A guy can dream,” Daichi sighed.

Suga decided that it physically impossible to wipe the stupid grin off his face and let it go. He watched Daichi and Asahi chat as he sipped his drink.

When the music had started, Suga and Asahi could barely keep it together. Daichi was frozen in place, like a deer in headlights. Kuroo had a good voice and moved gracefully around the stage, but Daichi stood frozen in place and sung along in a soft monotone. After the song, Daichi had walked off immediately, but Kuroo bowed dramatically and earned a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Suga was surprised when Daichi had showed up at their table, exchanged a quick greeting with Asahi, and stood in front of him with his hand out. Suga was about to take it when Kuroo had appeared behind him, snuck his hands around Daichi’s waist and winked. Suga pulled his hand away and waved instead. Kuroo and Daichi sat down with them and they laughed as Kuroo taunted Daichi about his apathy toward the ‘greatest karaoke duet of all time’ and their ‘defining moment.’ At some point, Kuroo had seen someone else he knew and got up to meet them. Suga had expected Daichi to get up, too, but he stayed close the rest of the night. When it came time to part ways, Daichi had asked if he would be around. Suga told him he was leaving. That was that.

Suga cleared his throat to join the conversation. “I just asked the bartender about the band that’s playing. Asahi didn’t seem sure, but maybe you know something about them?” He directed the last question at Daichi.

“Actually, that was the reason I invited Asahi along tonight. The Court is pretty fun, both the singer and mixer, well, mixer, keyboardist, and guitarist are extremely talented. I know them from a while back, but we're not super close. They're busy with touring and being famous.”

Suga couldn’t help himself. “Musical friends, huh? Maybe they rubbed off on you after all these years? Should we test our skills at a karaoke bar after the show?”

Daichi gave him a confident look. “I was just put off by the song. I’m not too bad a singer, though I prefer to play guitar.”

Suga raised his eyebrows. Just when he thought Daichi couldn’t get any hotter. “You play guitar?

Daichi put his hands on his hips. “Yup, though I don’t like doing any of the fancy guitar solo stuff. I’m more of a rhythm guy.”

“Wow. That’s pretty cool.” He sipped his drink again, reaching the ice at the bottom and making an unattractive slurping noise. Suga brought his hand to his face and smacked his forehead. “We’ve been talking this whole time and you haven’t even gotten your drink yet.” Suga pouted and pointed at Daichi’s empty hands.

Daichi touched his fingertips together like a villain in a movie. “Maybe that’s all part of the plan.”

Suga cocked his head and looked at a confused Asahi.

“I was waiting until you finished your first drinks so that I could treat you both to a round.”

“That’s sweet of you, but I really couldn’t let - “

Daichi cut Suga off before he could finish. “Nuh-uh. Nope. My treat. What’re you drinking, Suga? Asahi, another beer?”

“Anything is fine.” Daichi squinted at Suga and crossed his arms over his chest. Suga relented. “Gin and tonic. Thank you.”

Before Daichi could head to the bar, they heard someone scream his name from the entrance. Suga looked over at Asahi, who was already scanning the crowd.

Daichi waved the voice over to their spot. A guy with a shaved head and gauged ears came over and clapped Daichi on the back. He had a loud, good-natured laugh that rang between them.

“Daichi! Hey man! This is AWESOME!” He flexed his muscles as he brought his elbows to his side and closed his fists.

A shorter man with slicked up dark brown hair, bleached in the front, popped out from behind the one with the shaved head. Suga’s gaze was drawn to his two full-sleeve tattoos. He wondered what Asahi thought about them, so he looked at Asahi who, to his surprise, was smiling fondly at the smaller man.

“Hey Noya, Tanaka. Glad to see you here!” Asahi said as the two newcomers flanked him. Noya was the first to address Suga. “What’s up? You’re friends with Asahi, right?”

“Yup. Sugawara Koushi. Suga for short.”

Noya’s eyes lit up. “Cool! Asahi told me he had a friend staying at his place for awhile. Glad to finally meetcha!” He looked up at Asahi for a fist bump, which Asahi tentatively returned. Suga brought his hand to mouth to stifle a giggle, he couldn’t believe how comfortable Asahi was around these guys. It felt like just yesterday that Suga had to push him to open up to others. He scolded himself for not keeping in better touch.

“Asahi, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do a fist bump.” Daichi laughed at Suga’s observation.

Tanaka guffawed. “He might be a little shy, but SERIOUSLY. This guy. It’s a real treat to jam with him.”

Suga could’ve sworn he felt his jaw hit the floor. Asahi’s face turned beet red. Noya jumped in the air.

“Yosh! Asahi’s awesome! He KILLS it on vocals.”

Suga was speechless, and, mercifully, Daichi swooped in to explain, “I met Noya and Tanaka a couple months ago at an open mic night, turns out Tanaka drums and Noya can play the bass. Well, I recognized Asahi at the elementary school when I went for work one day and we made plans to catch up. One thing led to another and I found out that Asahi had an impressive voice, so we got together and we, honestly, we rocked out. The four of us haven’t played music in a while, though.”

He stared at Daichi like he had just been speaking a different language. Suga blinked a couple times and, without a word, slowly turned to Asahi, who paled. He knew what was coming. Suga punched him in the stomach.

“You big oaf! How have I never heard about this? That’s AMAZING!”

Tanaka, Noya, and Daichi stared with wide eyes. Suga was stronger than he looked, but, luckily for him, Asahi was exactly as strong as he looked.

Asahi grabbed his side and tried to smile, “It never came up!” He held his hands to his side before turning to Daichi, Noya, and Tanaka. “Suga is a writer, so maybe he can join us sometime? Daichi, you were talking about wanting to do something more original the last time we got together.”

Suga paled, but everyone else had stars in their eyes. Before Asahi’s revelation was addressed, however, there was a loud bang from the stage. Tanaka looked over his shoulder. “The band’s already setting up. Drinks? Anyone? All of us? Only me?”

Daichi moved forward toward Tanaka. “This round’s my treat, but you’re going to help me carry them.” Tanka acquiesced with a bow.

“You know what I want, dude?” Noya asked Tanaka with a flutter of his eyelashes. “Uh, do you even need to ask?” he responded as Daichi led him away.

While Daichi and Tanaka were at the bar, Suga was entertained by the way Noya showered Asahi with compliments. Immediately after they got their drinks, the lights dimmed.

Suga looked up on stage. There were four people: an angry looking dude with blond, frizzy hair at the drum kit, a guy with what looked like a mohawk but was actually just pointy hair on the guitar, a brooding guy on the keyboard and mixer, and a singer at the microphone. The man at the microphone was conventionally handsome, Suga gave him that, and had an overwhelming presence on stage. He had floppy brown hair that flipped out at the ends and lidded brown eyes that scanned the crowd. He felt someone touch his elbow and whisper in his ear.

“The singer is Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime is on the keyboard tonight. They’re the ones I knew way back when.” Suga only nodded as he tried to will strength into his knees; Daichi’s whisper had sent jolt of electricity through his body.

The music started up, softly like a heartbeat, and Oikawa opened his mouth to sing.

 I like where we are
 When we drive, in your car
 I like, where we are, here

He paused and gripped the microphone, still on the stand, with both hands as the music continued behind him. He stood close so that the crowd could hear each puff of breath. His eyes were closed. Suga could understand why the crowd was literally squealing with delight. He was an absolute pleasure to look at with a mesmerizing voice to match. The music was soft, only a couple notes on the guitar and keyboard, and it picked up for the second verse.

 Cause our lips, can touch
 And our cheeks, can brush
 Our lips can touch, here

Green and blue spotlights lit up the stage and all of the sudden everyone was dancing. Suga watched Tanaka lead Noya out into the crowd, and he, in turn, grabbed Asahi. Suga stood on his tip-toes and tried to make eye contact with Asahi. His friend turned around when he felt Suga’s gaze and gave him the thumbs up. Suga relaxed, took a sip of his drink and started bouncing on the balls of his feet.

 Well you are the one, the one who lies close to me
 Whispers “Hello, I missed you quite terribly”
 I fell in love, in love with you suddenly
 Now there’s no place else I could be but here in your arms

Suga was enjoying himself so thoroughly that had almost forgotten about the person standing next to him. He was so accustomed to going out alone that he almost jumped when he heard the whisper in his ear.

“Want to dance?”

Suga took one last sip of his drink and turned to face Daichi, who had not moved after whispering in his ear. Their faces were inches apart. He took a deep breath and nodded. Daichi stepped back and held out his hand, just like he did when they first met. This time, Suga took it.

 I like where you sleep
 When you sleep, next to me
 I like where you sleep, here

 Our lips, can touch
 And our cheeks, can brush
 Our lips can touch, here

Daichi led Suga close to where Asahi, Tanaka, and Noya were dancing. He rolled his eyes; dancing might’ve been too strong of a word. Tanaka was pumping his arms, Noya was sort of jumping up and down and flailing, and Asahi was swaying completely out of time. All three of them were smiling and happy, which made Suga’s heart swell in his chest. He felt Daichi let go and turned to look at his dance partner.

Daichi’s face was flushed. He bobbed his head to the beat of the song for a few seconds before starting to move. Suga threw his head back and laughed because Daichi looked like a dad that had one too many drinks at a barbeque. Daichi cocked his head. Suga
mouthed ‘nothing’ as he also started to move.

 Well you are the one, the one who lies close to me
 Whispers “Hello, I missed you quite terribly”
 I fell in love, in love with you suddenly
 Now there’s no place else I could be but here in your arms

Maybe it was the song, or the two drinks, or the comfort in seeing his closest friend having such a good time, but Suga moved closer to Daichi as they danced. They had begun holding hands at some point during the last verse. Daichi looked at their clasped fingers, put on a mischievous grin, and spun Suga like they were waltzing at a ball. It was so unexpected that Suga yelped as he was spun away and then brought back into Daichi’s chest. Suga moved his arms around Daichi’s neck and Daichi held him lightly by the hips.

As the song wound down, Suga held onto Daichi as if he were a lifeline. Daichi was a stranger, and Suga knew it was ridiculous, but it felt right, like everything would be okay.

 Here in your arms
 Here in your arms

The song ended and Daichi bit the bottom of his lip as he looked at Suga, who smiled back at him. The crowded cheered as The Court transitioned into their next song. The music was good, but Suga suspected that he was excited for the rest of the set not because of the band, but because he had the best dance partner in the house.