“Oui, madame?3.” 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-buchou?4. 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 ange?5.”
“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.
“I ordered for you,” Arnaud said, and Reno shrugged, fine with whatever Arnaud got him. The waitress looked everywhere but at them as she set down their waters and coffee, looking flustered, her cheeks pink.
“Did you watch the new episode yet?” Jaewon was talking to Arnaud, holding his phone up and showing him a photo of an actor Reno didn’t recognize.
