Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Luka
“Hikaru, stop texting,” Arnaud snapped at him, his dark eyes glaring like he really would take away Reno’s phone like he’d been threatening.
“Don’t you start, Arata.” Reno wagged a finger then avoided Arnaud as he lunged at him, cursing in French for using his birth name.
He ducked out of the way, laughing, to grab his guitar and almost knocked a few dishes off the kitchenette counter in the process.
He had to push by Jaewon on his way to the back of the bus and then jump over his foot to avoid tripping on the way back when he stuck it out. “You’re all out to get me.”
“They’re just jealous.” Sebastian hopped up from the front passenger seat and joined them on the long couch, squeezing himself between Arnaud and Reno. “Not often one of us leaves a show with scratches down their back.”
“At least I can trust you not to give me grief. I got a real earful from Kandi earlier.” Reno set his head on Sebastian’s broad shoulder, burying his face in his curly hair, and let his eyes close before Arnaud snapped his fingers in front of them.
“No naps. We need to stay on schedule.”
“What crawled up your asshole today?” Jaewon asked, taking the seat opposite from the couch, flipping open a notepad. It was filled with their songs, lyrics, and annotations, mostly scribbled in Reno’s hurried writing. “Did you miss Reno that much?”
“You know I don’t sleep well alone.” Arnaud frowned.
“Gomen ne1, " Reno muttered and pulled his guitar onto his lap. “I didn’t sleep much either if that’s any consolation.”
“Ce n’est pas2. I despise you,” Arnaud hissed and Reno figured he really was cranky. Maybe a nap was the right idea. “Where’d we leave off?”
Sebastian idly tuned his bass while Jaewon flipped through the notepad. Jaewon tapped the paper and said, “Keys.”
Reno groaned. “I don’t wanna.”
“Sorry, babe; only you play piano,” Sebastian said, then unclipped the tuner and tossed it into his open case.
“Poorly,” Reno retorted. “I hate playing it live.”
“We can pre-record and set your pedal to play.”
Reno gasped, hand to his chest. "No, no. Fine. Hand me the book." Jaewon handed it over and Reno took a pencil from him next. He quickly annotated a few ideas, then plucked them out on guitar.
"Make the second F sharp a three-quarter," suggested Sebastian, and Reno tried it out.
They went back and forth, mapping out potential melodies to transpose onto the keys later.
Arnaud, his attitude dropping away as they worked, took over inscribing the final pieces before moving them forward to the drop after the piano bridge.
Reno checked out for a bit, letting himself relax into the couch as Jaewon tapped out patterns on his practice pad and Sebastian played along on bass, the travel amp turned to a low hum.
Reno wrapped his arms around his guitar, hugged it to his chest, and let his eyes fall closed.
He trusted Arnaud would yell at him to pay attention when it was time for him to pitch back in.
But when he woke up, it was to Jaewon gently grabbing his shoulder. Sebastian had left the couch and was back at the front of the bus, chatting with Kandi, and when Reno turned his head to see what was pressed against him, he found Arnaud passed out, drooling against his shoulder.
“Kandi says she's gotta brief us.” Jaewon gave him a small, knowing smile before pulling away. “Do you have a hair tie? I lost mine.”
“Yeah, hold this.” Reno unwrapped himself from his guitar and gave it to Jaewon who put it on the seat behind him.
He shuffled around, digging in his pockets for one of his hair ties and found one in the front left pocket.
By this point, Arnaud had started to slip down, his face squished against Reno’s arm.
He handed the tie to Jaewon who busied himself with wrapping his very long, black hair into a knot at his nape.
Kandi joined them as the driver, Jonathan pulled off the highway.
She had her yellow clipboard as always, her feet in a pair of equally yellow fuzzy socks that clashed terribly with her typical business formal.
Reno had only seen her in comfortable clothes a few times, and only ever when he visited her flat to have drinks and dinner.
She tucked a few strands of her mousy blond hair behind her ear and took a moment to detangle her earrings— all Vivienne Westwood, the only brand she wore.
Due to her influence, Reno had grown fond of the designer and he often wore a bracelet Kandi had gifted him.
When she moved Reno’s guitar from the seat and got comfortable, Reno took it back and set it between his knees before turning to wake Arnaud.
“Well, I hope you’re rested,” Kandi started, sounding a touch clipped and Reno wondered if she was still mad at him.
She adjusted her frameless glasses higher onto her nose and peered down at Arnaud, who was stretching.
He reached over and rubbed his drool off Reno’s arm as an apology for sleeping on it as she continued, “We’re almost in Columbus.
Arnaud, repeat after me—Hello, Columbus, Ohio. ”
“Hello, Columbus, Ohio.” Arnaud sounded so sleepy, Reno had to poke him in the side for it.
“Don’t say Columbia by accident.”
“Oui, madame3.” Arnaud poked Reno back and it hurt more than it should have. He backed away, flinching and lifted his shirt, finding a series of small, growing bruises on his ribcage.
“Reno.” Kandi eyed him, his ribs, and she turned a brilliant shade of pink. “Modesty tonight.”
“O-kay, I’ll wear the um, one-piece thing.” Reno pulled his shirt down, not feeling an ounce of shame.
She pointed at his neck. “Makeup early tonight, too. Don’t leave the bus until that’s taken care of. You don’t need photos leaked.”
Okay, there was a tiny bit of shame. But, only because he was making Kandi’s job harder.
“Hai, Kandi-buchou4. I have that high neck one-sleeve thing too.”
“Oh, the one with reflective bits? That will be a good look with the leotard," she said, then turned to Arnaud. “Where are we playing?”
“Columbia.”
“No. Columbus," she said and Arnaud looked properly scolded.
He tried again, “Columbus. Ohio. I will not let you down.”
“T-yan, how is the wrist?”
“Good,” Jaewon said, showing off his left limb where he rolled his wrist a few times. “No inflammation.”
“Nice, good. Take your meds anyway. Can I get you any coffee, Sebastian? You’re the only one who didn’t nap.”
“Aw, you are so sweet to me," Sebastian said, his smile big and warm. “Where are we eating? I can probably just get some with dinner.”
She checked her phone. “The diner is about five minutes out. Should have coffee there. Keep it clean, boys, nothing greasy. Reno, no sweets.”
Reno turned to Arnaud and whispered, “Order me chocolate pancakes, pretty please.”
“Of course, mon ange5.”
“I heard that!" Kandi pointed at them. “No sweets! You’re like overgrown children.” She dropped the strict act and smiled at them in that soft, fond way she had. “Only five more shows then you have a little break before flying home, then we start the Europe tour. Keep up the energy, we’ve been getting nothing but positive feedback every night, and I expect the rest of the tour to be like that.”
Jonathan pulled into an open spot on the side of the road and Reno peeked out the window at the tiny diner.
“No pancakes,” he reassured Kandi, “even though you’re evil for telling me not to.”
She laughed and poked him gently at the side of his neck with her clipboard. “You are very lucky I love you. Cover those up before you get off the bus.”
“I know.” Reno beamed at her then left to grab concealer from his bag as everyone else got their shoes on and left the bus.
He locked himself in the tiny bathroom at the back and slumped against the wall, happy to have a moment of quiet in what would otherwise be an extremely noisy day.
He tilted his jaw to the side to check out his neck in the mirror and felt his stomach heat.
The marks would fade in a day or two as they weren’t extremely dark or large, but having any kind of reminder of what Luka and he had done together made a curl of satisfaction roll through him.
He moved his hair out of the way to snap a photo in the mirror, and sent it, and the selfies they had taken together last night, to Luka. He filed the photos away into a hidden folder on his phone then set to work trying to cover up what he wished he could show off to the entire world.
He still felt like he was dreaming.
Reno prided himself on being incredibly skilled at categorizing the nonsense in his brain, setting aside whatever was happening in his personal life when he was on stage, practicing guitar or violin, in dance class, or composing.
But, the moment he was alone, a flood of emotions, of musings, of inspiration would hit him.
He had to treat Luka the same way, filing everything about him away into a safe place in his mind and heart before picking up his guitar.
It didn’t stop him from feeling like he was floating, though.
He could stay focused, but his body pinged with reminders of Luka.
He lifted his shirt and pressed into his ribs, lining his fingers up with the bruises Luka had left behind, and felt the air in his lungs rush away from him.
He yanked the oversized black t-shirt low over his thighs, stretching the material until he heard a thread pop. He needed to get out of the bathroom and back around his friends before he completely lost it.
He left the bus, located the band inside the diner, and dropped down into the booth next to Sebastian.
Kandi sat at the next booth over with Jonathan and Cane, their personal tour security guard.
Reno could catch bits and pieces of Kandi’s conversation over the phone— something about merchandise revisions—as he pulled a menu towards himself.