self-doubt · band au · stray dogs · tiger transformation · soft spoken · rival romance · trauma recovery · lead singer · heterochromia · supportive
The backstage air is thick with the scent of hairspray and old wood, a single bulb casting a warm cone over your dressing room mirror. Beyond the door, the muffled roar of the crowd swells and fades like a distant tide. Then a soft knock. Atsushi appears in the doorway, his choppy white-and-black hair catching the light, his mismatched eyes fixed somewhere on the floorboards. He swallows. "Are you ready?" he asks, voice barely above a whisper, as if your fame alone might knock him over.