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"Ah, ah, ahhhhh~"
Kenma pauses from tuning their double bass to send a glance towards Hinata as he warms up.
"Lalala... dododo..." he runs through his exercises as quickly as he always does, voice silk and sugar against Kenma's ears.
"You should work on your lower register, Shouyou," Kenma says it matter of factly, the way they always do.
"But where's the fun in that, Kenmaaaaaah," Hinata sings Kenma's name, adding a little flourish and trill at the end.
"Well a wide range means you're more likely to be lead singer, Shou-you," Kenma sing songs Hinata's name, plucking an accompaniment onto their dear cherry-red double bass, fingers ghosting over the cat stickers beneath the strings.
Hinata giggles and walks towards Kenma, picking up his trumpet and blowing a warm note into it to begin the tuning process.
"Who else is showing up tonight?" He asks between notes.
Kenma hums, "Kuro, probably, considering he owns this joint. Yaku said he might dance if we get a quartet going."
Hinata improvises a melody and Kenma easily fills in with harmonies. They've always been good at figuring out their bandmates next move, a good skill for any jazz player.
Hinata on the other hand, just plays and strings everyone along.
"What about Lev? Inuoka?"
"On tour. Lev is anyway, with the bowlcut drummer from Shiratori station and the sax with the weird bleached hair from that Date-cafe down the road."
"What?! They didn't even invite me..." Hinata pouts and wipes the brass of his dear instrument idly, "and Inuoka?"
"Helping Kai out with recording a new song. We need to get exposure from somewhere, Shouyou." Kenma takes a sip of water and sings a clear baritone note, warming up.
"Well I get that," Hinata jumps up and down, face contorted into an almost comical amount of frustration, "I just like playing with them!!"
Kenma smiles and rolls a few r's between their tongue, "Fukunaga is here though, the oboe player. Oh and a newbie, Teshiro. They're a backup drummer while Tora is out with his husband."
Hinata's eyes light up, "Man I still can't believe Tanaka-senpai is married!"
Kenma smiles softly, and lets their darling bass rest against the wall.
"You always get excited when someone gets married, Shouyou..."
"I can't help it!" Hinata's eyes crinkle at the edges with a warm smile as he looks to the ceiling, "it's just such a lovely thing..."
Kenma opens their mouth to speak when Kuroo walks into the practice room, the usual smirk on his face.
"So, how's the main act for tonight coming along?" He says, cheshire-like teeth pulled into a grin.
"We've just finished warming up, Kuroo-san!" Hinata says, bright as ever.
"What's the setlist?" Kenma asks, stretching their fingers out in front of them.
"Well, about that..."
The door is pushed open and a smaller cat-like figure appears beside Kuroo.
Yaku leans against Kuroo, enough to push him uncomfortably into the doorframe, "I'd like you two to come up with it."
Kenma's eyes widen, "really? Why?"
"Because my boyfriend's a meanie-" Kuroo starts, a fake pout on his face.
Yaku lightly punches him in the arm, "because I've had enough of this guy's taste in music."
Hinata laughs, and Kenma can't help but smile at the sound.
Like orange zest, cinnamon, and sunshine.
"We'll do it! Just give us maybe 10 more minutes and we'll have one ready."
"Thanks Hinata-kun," Yaku smiles, leaning into Kuroo, "I'm excited to see what you two do."
The two of them leave the practice room, and the warmth from before returns.
"So I'm thinking we go for 'The way you look tonight', 'My way' and then do a GWAH transition between 'Blue moon' and 'Fly me to the moon'." Hinata starts to pace around the room, his tongue sticking out in thought.
"You don't usually choose slow songs like those last two, Shouyou," Kenma gets up slowly and leans against a wall near where Hinata is pacing.
He smiles at Kenma and stops walking, "I just thought it'd be a good transition."
Kenma hums, and walks towards Hinata slowly.
"Can I add a song to that setlist?" They ask, low and quiet.
Hinata perks up, "of course!! What've you got in mind?"
Kenma smiles, and starts to sing, "Heaven, I'm in heaven," they close their eyes, voice deep as a gentle sea, and loving as a spring afternoon.
They reach their hands out, and Hinata's face lights up in recognition.
He takes their hand and twines an arm around their waist.
"And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak," Kenma continues, then they hum a little improvised flourish to end the line.
They look into Hinata's eyes and lean in, head resting against his shoulder as they start to sway.
"And I seem to find the happiness I seek," Hinata sings, voice bright and lively, spinning the two of them around on their heels.
They hum and sing improvised melodies, playing off one another easily, a call and response built off years of companionship. A bond built on the foundations of a rivalry and a curiosity burning within both their hearts.
They dance the steps like it'll be their last. They dance and remember how it felt when it was once their first.
They dance and the world seems to dance with them, twirling and stepping in time with the beat of their hearts.
Kenma hums a final note, the familiar feeling of the vibrations in Hinata's cheeks against their own warming them to their core.
"When we're out together, dancing cheek to cheek~"
---
The gig goes as well as always.
Teshiro is a surprisingly good drummer, and Hinata vows to never make fun of an oboe player again after witnessing Fukunaga's skillful rendition of Blue moon.
Yaku got really into the performance, and Kuroo even managed to steal a kiss from him when he wasn't singing. He claimed Kenma must've chosen the songs for his sake, but both Hinata and them know it's not the case.
They walk home with their instruments slung across their back, Kenma with their giant double bass and surprising strength, Hinata with his favourite trumpet.
They walk home and hum together, a song that only exists in that moment.
A melody made just for them.
To dance and laugh across the streets, the beat of their footsteps harmonizing perfectly.
Eventually their song will end, as all songs do, but the feelings and memories they've built will last a lifetime.
And as Kenma taps a rhythm with both hands; one against Hinata's fingers interlocked with theirs, the other against the little velvet box in their left pocket; they think they wouldn't mind hearing this tune forever.