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Is it getting torn down? Hey...

[ Hand holding might've been more important here than on the streets, and Minato reaches blindly towards the sound of Angela's voice while he waits for his vision to adjust. There was that sign up front, and if it's to be abandoned, the electricity would've been shut off, depending on how long it's been since Angela was last here, he thinks. ]

Someone bought it a few months ago so it had to close down, I think they're going to gut it and turn it into something el––

[ . . .

She stops suddenly.]

That's...not my hand, Minato. [an extremely nervous laugh as she guides his hand up to her wrists.]

[ ... ]

Sorry, I'm used to being blind in only one eye, not both.

[ He resettles his hand in hers. ]

What did it used to be?

That's what I'm trying to show you, if I can just...

[switch, switch, switch...she flips at least three of them, but no lights turn on until she flips a fifth, which results in an extremely dim panel in the ceiling light up in the corner of the room. It's enough to see, but barely. The room is large, open, and empty. A quarter of the room is occupied by a stage that only rises up about two inches off the floor. There's a rusty chair in the corner of the stage, with some more folding chairs scattered on the floor. Abandoned. The walls are painted a dark grey, with a faded mural displaying various motivational quotes from famous artists.]

This is the first place I ever played music for a live audience, all on my own.

[She steps up onto the stage, still holding Minato's hand.]

I found myself in this building. The self that I fell in love with. Not the self that my parents, my sister, or my friends wanted me to be.

I sang, and I played guitar, and they listened. Maybe 25, 30 people...
They listened to me, and they smiled. I saw them all smiling at me as I sang. My love for music brought smiles to these people's faces. I felt...whole. Fulfilled. I never wanted to stop singing that night. So I kept singing. I kept that night, that feeling alive in my heart for so long. Every time you saw me smiling, every optimistic thing I ever said, every time I tried to give you advice with my sunny disposition, I was channeling that moment. That feeling.

Song.

[Her grip on Minato's hand tightens a bit, her breath heavy and weighed down by her feelings.]

I thought maybe I would come back here...and find that again.

[ It's a passion that he isn't familiar with, can't quite understand, but wishes he did. To have a moment so poignant that it sticks with him and colors his life... He has those moments, but none of them are happy ones; they cling to him instead of the other way around.

He takes her other hand, steps back so the they are two arm lengths apart with Angela left in center stage. ]

So that's the love behind your smiles. I'm glad I got to know. Will you sing for me?

I don't have my guitar, so...it...I'll sing the same cover I sang back then.

[She gives his hands a soft squeeze, or as soft as she can manage being the way that she is. Opening her mouth, she sings quietly, intimately––her eyes closed at first, but opening up halfway through to lock with Minato.]

♫I want to know you,
I want to talk to you,
I want to hear about your day...

I'll never leave you,
I'll never be mean to you,
I'll always let you get your way...

Something good will come our way,
And maybe that good thing's gonna happen today,
Something good will come our way,
And maybe that good thing's gonna happen today♫

[. . .]

♫And something good just might come crashing
From the stars, that light the sky
If you could be so kind...
And help me kill some time...♫

[When she finishes, there's a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes. It's something so simple. Singing words. But the truth is, it's the first time she's sang anything in months, the first time she's tried reaching back to her old self and pulling herself up above water. And it worked. It feels good. Pushing past all of the fear and misery to embrace the present moment.]

That's...that's all.

[ And it feels good to listen to her, different than the music playing from the speakers overhead at his workplaces, different than the music filtering through his headphones hanging over his chest. With somebody holding his hands and standing before him, he can close his eyes and pretend that he's the only one in the world, that the audience is just him and that Angela is singing for him, promises to know each other and stay together and look forward to good things together, just between the two of them. It makes him smile, and he hopes that Angela's audience- back then and now and all the ones in the future- he hopes that they smile with these thoughts in mind. A pause in their day, their own little world, time and space apart from everything else to take solace in, like break times at Expressive when he used to go out and listen to her, encouraged to keep going more than any number or length of naps ever did for him.

He squeezes her hands, opens his eyes, draws breath again. ]

You're understating. That was beautiful. Your voice, the feelings behind it. I can imagine all the smiles you brought to people's faces.

Thank you for being a wonderful audience, Minato.

[Blinking a stray tear out of her eye, she lightly pulls him towards her. His praise, while not wholly unexpected, feels just as fulfilling as the applause from that day.]

...Come up on stage with me?

[ it's easy to be a good audience when all he has to do is stand there. He steps closer, turning on his heel so that he's staring out at the empty room. Not the ideal place for him, who doesn't prefer the spotlight. ]

[Angela takes her hand from his, instead wrapping her arm around his shoulder.]

Ladies and gentlemen...

Give it up for Minato Arisato! [And she claps her free hand against her thigh, mimicking fake applause under the breath.]

Minato is a first time performer here, so be sure to give him a warm welcome!

[turns to him, a mischevious grin on her face replacing the tearful happiness that was here just moments prior.]

Minato is going to be performing some spoken word tonight, so let's give the mic to Minato...

[She mimes setting up an invisible mic stand in front of him, bringing it up to his mouth.]

And let him do his thing! [She releases him and jumps down off the stage, picking up one of the discarding folding chairs and setting it up to take a seat. She'll give him a little more applause, too.]

Woooo!

[ I am currently sitting in a lecture hall doing really short and lazy phone tags so sorry--

Minato mentally says some prayers, takes a deep breath, and proceeds to perform the Burn My Dread Last Battle Reincarnation rap. It's the only song he has memorized. ]

[Angela is in awe for the entire thing, occasionally laughing obnoxiously and clapping her hands along with him to give him a beat. When he's finished she gives him a rousing standing ovation!]

What a natural! Bravo! Performance of the night!

[She hops back up on stage to give him a quick hug.]

I can't believe I performed on the same stage as Minato Arisato.

[ Performing is already a lot, even to just one person. With the clapping and the cheering, he imagines this will be the last time he'll let himself be coerced to do this, even if it didn't take much prompting in the first place. ]

Silly. The honor is mine.

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