---
It started with small things.
Arashi stopped waking up beside him.
The texts that used to say "home late, wait for me" became "don't wait."
The smell of his cologne was replaced with bar smoke and exhaustion.
Ken noticed, of course. He always noticed.
But he didn't ask.
Not at first.
Not until the fourth day in a row Arashi came back at 3 a.m., smelling of sweat and tired silence.
---
"Where have you been?" Ken asked softly, his voice barely audible in the dim glow of the kitchen light.
Arashi didn't look at him. Just opened the fridge and grabbed water. "Club stuff. The usual."
"You don't even answer your phone anymore."
"I'm tired, Ken. Let's not do this right now."
Ken nodded.
He didn't cry. But the ache in his chest didn't let him sleep either.
---
The next day, it rained.
Hard.
Ken sat by the window of his academy, watching the water streak down the glass. Something in his gut just didn't sit right.
So when he left for the day, instead of heading home… he waited near Arashi's club.
It was nearing midnight.
Arashi exited the back entrance with a hood over his head, not noticing Ken in the parked car across the street.
Ken followed him.
Down winding roads, into a quieter part of the city. The place was almost run-down, far from where either of them usually went.
Then Arashi stopped in front of a building that looked like a closed dance studio. Faded signage, rusted shutters.
Ken quietly parked, pulled his hoodie up, and walked behind him as Arashi entered through a side door.
Inside, the soft thump of music.
And voices.
Ken peeked through the glass and what he saw startled him—
Arashi was inside, coaching a bunch of rowdy kids, maybe ten or twelve years old, in a makeshift dance class.
"Left! Right! No—Ryan, your footwork's a mess!" Arashi barked, but not with anger. He ruffled the kid's hair and pushed him back into line.
A girl giggled from the side. "Coach A is scary again."
Arashi sighed and grinned. "You brats make me scary."
Ken stood outside in shock.
The club. The stress. The distance.
Arashi wasn't hiding someone.
He was hiding… this.
---
After class, Ken knocked gently on the side door.
Arashi opened it, blinking in surprise. "Ken?"
Ken stepped inside. "You've been doing this behind my back?"
Arashi scratched his neck. "It's not like that. I… started this group for some neighborhood kids. Most of 'em don't have stable homes. I didn't tell you because I wanted to do it right first. Without failing."
Ken stared at him for a moment before smiling softly. "You idiot."
Arashi frowned. "Huh?"
Ken stepped closer, brushing some rain from Arashi's hair. "You thought I'd be mad at this?"
"I thought you'd worry. Or think I'm getting distracted."
Ken looked around at the kids now packing their things and waved. A few waved back shyly.
"You being like this… it makes me like you even more."
Arashi stared, stunned for a second.
Then: "You're such a softie."
Ken smirked. "And you're a secret soft-hearted delinquent."
They left the studio hand in hand, rain now nothing but background music to their quiet smiles.
---