When the lights go off

Band: Sadie

Pairing: Mao&Mizuki

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance

Warnings: -

Note: Mao is afraid of darkness, so Mizuki has to comfort him.

He remembered this day as if it was yesterday, but eleven years have passed already.

It was dark. Strong wind was blowing outside. Mizuki was staring at the trees bending behind the window under the pressure.

"Aki, maybe we should go home already?" asked Mao, looking through the window. "This weather doesn't look good."

"No, we have to practice more" replied Aki, but at this moment his phone rang. "I'm leaving. Don't eavesdrop or I won't let you go home until tomorrow."

And he left, just like he said.

Mizuki sighed and decided to tune his guitar. Kei tapped rhythmically on the table with his drumsticks. Tsurugi was in his own world. He's been staring at the window, which was an annoying norm for him.

"Wake up, kid!" called him Mao, nudging his shoulder.

Tsurugi jumped and fell off the chair, which fell on him. Mizuki laughed, Mao looked at Tsurugi in surprise and Kei jumped to his feet and ran to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, worried.

He picked up the chair and helped Tsurugi get up.

"Yeah, I'm fine" replied Tsurugi. "Mao, don't do this again."

"Alright, alright" Mao laughed and sat next to Mizuki. "Would you guess that he can react like that?"

"No" Mizuki shook his head.

Mao got closer to him.

"By the way..." he lowered his voice. "They have to finally get together or I'm going to lose my mind."

Mizuki forced himself to laugh.

And who's talking?

Suddenly they heard a loud crack of something breaking abruptly, followed by a bang, and Mizuki only had time to see the falling cherry tree tearing the high-tension cables. Then the lights turned off.

Kei, who returned to his drumset, dropped the drumsticks and Tsurugi let out a muffled scream. Mizuki hissed as Mao's fingers dug into his shoulder.

Painfully.

"Mao, what the hell are you doing?" Mizuki hissed. "Did you lose your mind like you said?"

Mao didn't answer. Mizuki heard only his shallow breathing and nothing else.

"Mao?" Hiroyuki urged his friend.

Well, in fact, Mao wasn't just his friend.

"What's going on, Mizuki?" asked Kei.

"By the way, why is it so dark now?" Tsurugi was a little confused.

"A tree fell on high-tension cables and tore them" explained Kei.

"Mao?" Mizuki tried once again and this time he got a reaction.

Masao cuddled to him desperately. His breathing was shallow, ragged, even spasmic.

Does he have a panic attack?

"You're going to be okay" said Mizuki, hugging him.

He knew that Mao is afraid of darkness. But he didn't expect that his nyctophobia is so strong.

He heard the door screeching. Dim white light blurred the darkness sourounding them.

"There is no electricity in the whole building" announced Aki, closing the door behind him and lit up Mao and Mizuki's faces. "What's going on?"

"I think that Mao has a panic attack" replied Kei.

Mizuki looked at Mao. His eyes were squeezed shut. He was tense and his fingers were tightly gripping Mizuki's shirt.

"Mao, get over it, you're in your thirties" murmured Aki, litting up his cigarette.

"You're not empathetic at all" growled Mizuki.

"Typical Aki" Kei found his phone and turned on the flashlight. "Is it enough?"

Mao opened his eyes slightly, letting go of some tears, which flowed down his cheeks. He wiped them nervously and moved away from Mizuki.

"What happened, Mao?" asked Tsurugi.

"It's just nyctophobia" explained Mao, trying to pull out a cigarrette from a box with his trembling hands.

"Stop" Mizuki took the box away from him. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

"No one let you go" reminded them Aki.

"I'm a leader too" announced Mao with a shaking voice. "And I'm leaving right now."

Mao grabbed Mizuki's hand and rushed towards the door.

"Wait, Mao, I have to... Wait!" Mizuki stopped for a moment and grabbed his bag, then he pulled out his phone. "I have a flashlight like Kei. Now we can go."

"So let's go" Mao smiled nervously. "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya!" replied Tsurugi and Kei.

Aki didn't react at all.

* * *

When they were in the car, Mao relaxed a little, but Mizuki didn't want him to sit behind a wheel after all.

"I had a panic attack, not a heart attack" said Mao.

"And what?" Mizuki sat down behind the wheel. "Let me worry about you."

"As you wish" Mao buckled up the seatbelt. "By the way..."

"What?"

"I'm sorry for putting you into an uncomfortable situation" said Mao.

"Uncomfortable?"

"I don't think that my fingers painfully clenching on your skin are comfortable" explained Mao. "Besides, I'm the older one. I should be the one, who protects you."

"I don't have any phobias" Mizuki shrugged. "And I didn't care about the reason you hugged me. I focused on the fact that you did it anyway."

"Were you really so pleased by that?" asked Mao and Mizuki scolded himself for telling him too much.

"I like hugs..." he replied evasively.

"And I like hugging you" announced Mao.

Mizuki almost his a street lamp.

"What are you talking about?" Hiroyuki was surprised.

"Oh, stop it" Mao looked at him firmly. "Do you really think that only Tsurugi and Kei are so oblivious and annoying?"

Mizuki chuckled nervously.

"So... Am I oblivious?" he asked slowly.

"Blind like a mole!" exclaimed Mao, waving his arms, almost hitting Mizuki. "You know, we should talk, when we leave the car. Or I'm going to break glass accidentally. Or you teeth."

Mizuki nodded and they were sitting in silence for the rest of the ride, during which he created a lot of scenarios about what Mao wanted to tell him.

When they reached Mao's home, weather was still moody.

"Come with me" Mao opened the door to the staircage. "I'm worried that some tree can hit your car."

Mizuki nodded and followed Mao to his flat.

"Come in" Masao pushed the front door and almost pulled Hiroyuki into his apartment.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Mizuki.

Mao ignored him and walked to his kitchen.

"Do you want green or black tea?" he asked. "I would make you coffee, but I ran out of it."

"Green" replied Mizuki, sitting on the sofa.

Mao came back after a while, carrying two cups. He gave Mizuki one and sat down beside him.

"I like you" he announced and Hiroyuki almost dropped his cup. "Really. And you're also pretty, but I think you know it."

"But..."

"I tried to hook up with you" continued Mao, swinging his legs. "But it's not that easy, Mizu."

"No?"

"No" Mao shook his head and sipped his tea. "You're too oblivious."

Masao put his cup on the table.

"So I'll tell you this without complicating things" he announced. "I love you. I don't know, what you're going to do, but it's a fact."

Mizuki thought for a moment, then he leaned down and kissed Mao's lips softly.

"I accept such answer" said Masao and this time he kissed Mizuki.

And Mizuki kissed him back.

They heard a thunder just as lightning lit up the room.

...and that's when power went off.

"And that's the end of seeing our tea" mumbled Mizuki, feeling Mao's fingers clenching on his shirt. "Are you okay?"

"It's not as bad as before" he heard Mao's voice in the darkness. "Come on, we have to distract my mind."

"What do you... Oh, okay, I get it" Mizuki laughed.

It seems the most interesting things happen, when the lights go off.

The end