deciphered

cypher's condo II

Oikawa let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a moment before turning his head back to face the window wall. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go quiet on you."

"It's okay," you responded, your left hand still placed on his shoulder. "Sometimes, silence is all that can be said."

He continued to stare at the Tokyo nightscape, the window now flooded with streams of water dripping down the side of the building. The lights of the skyline were blurred through the glass, the soft patter of the droplets now growing louder as it began to rain harder. You also stared out of the window alongside him in the dimmed end of his condo, watching the entire city light up underneath the small crescent moon peeking through the overcast clouds.

You both awkwardly stood next to each other, not sure what else to say in the moment. The white noise from the heater and the rain against the window filled the silence in between you two, your arms now crossed over your chest with Oikawa's hands still in the front pocket of his jeans. You turned to face him once more, the side of your eyes looking back at his living room behind.

"Hey, I'm really sorry if I was being too intrusive and asking for way too much back there. We don't have to talk about it anymore if you feel uncomfortable." You rubbed your left arm with your right hand, ashamedly looking towards the dimly lit kitchen lights.

"You know one thing no one ever asks me about?" Oikawa continued to stare at the window, observing the passing cars from down below on the expressway bridge. He didn't turn to look at you, keeping the same monotonous expression on his face.

"What is it?" You stepped one inch closer to him, your body now parallel to the window.

He didn't respond as he turned to look at the living room, his hands still tucked within his front pockets. You didn't notice it before, but underneath the side of his jaw rested a small scar, a faint one that blended in with the rest of his skin. It was concealable to most, but up close inches away from his face, it was the only thing you could see that was noticeable.

Oikawa reached his right hand out, hesitantly grabbing onto yours. He grasped the edge of your fingers delicately, the same way he did when he was leading you through the crowd of the second race—almost like he was scared to hurt you again. While turning his head back, he gave you another soft smile. "Let me show you something."

You both took a few steps over to his TV stand which rested a modern turntable with two small box speakers on each side. Underneath resided dozens of records, all stacked vertically throughout the open compartment. Oikawa leaned down on one knee and brushed his fingers along the top of the records, slowly picking through each album sleeve until he pulled a specific one out.

While he slipped it out of the cover sleeve, Oikawa opened up the transparent dust cover of his vinyl player and laid the black record on the platter, holding up the needle to place it on the edge. Within a second as he pressed the play button, the quiet static of the needle shifting through the grooves echoed on the box speakers, slowly transitioning to a piano accompanying a young man singing.

"♫ I fall in love too easily, I fall in love too fast... ♫"

Oikawa stood back up, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at the record spin in a clockwise motion. The sound of a trumpet started to play softly along with the piano, the quiet strums of the hi-hat cymbals on the drums echoing in the background. It was overall a calm and mellow song, dreamy and lost in a trance with the rain falling softly against the windows.

"For once, I'd like someone to ask me about the normal things I like to do," Oikawa continued to fix his eyes to the album cover resting against the edge of the TV stand, watching the record spin fast on the turntable. "Listening to music and collecting records are a few of them."