Midnight conversations.

He could always hear it in their voices.

The soft murmurs, the stretched silences, the heavy breathing that threatened to carry them off into sleep after long days at the studio. They always refused to part, taking on whatever tasks they could so they could spend a little longer together before they eventually had to part to head home.

They always unwound before they called each other and tonight was no different.

Ruki was trying hard not to doze off, as was Aoi, unable to say goodnight just yet as music from the vocalist’s end filtered through the air and into the phone, threatening to lull Aoi into sleep. He knew Ruki wasn’t that far behind him, but he hoped he wouldn’t fall asleep too soon. Oh, how he wanted both of them to sleep.

He had to stay up just a little while longer.

“Taka, do you want me to let you go so you could sleep—”

“Nh-nn!”

Aoi smiled to himself when he heard him decline before he could even finish. That’s how it always was, it was rare when Ruki asked Aoi such questions, but no matter who it was, the response was always the same.

They were never ready to hang up.

A glance to the clock through the dark, Aoi stared as the red numbers glared at him, that single minute feeling like an eternity as he waited, “Hey Taka?”

“Yeah?”

00:00.

“Happy birthday, baby.”