“I understand.”Blake squeezed his hand.“Here, let’s grab something to eat first.”
They headed to the building on the other side of the mall, where restaurant row was located.Several difficult years had taken a significant toll on the local businesses.Most of the shops were shuttered up.The windows that had once featured a myriad of wax food displays were now gray and empty.To Blake’s delight, his favorite Western-inspired place had managed to remain open, and he treated them to a dinner of chicken karaage curry and seafood rice gratin.
Even by the time they’d finished eating, the gallery still wasn’t due to open for several more hours, and Marin looked sick to his stomach with anxiety.Blake scanned the area for something to distract them, tugging Marin over to a standee advertising happy hour at a karaoke lounge.
“You interested?”he asked.“Breath control via singing might help you calm down a little—I can plug my ears with tissue.”
“I’d really like that.”Marin nodded, looking relieved.“I’m sorry, Blake.I need a little more time.”
“Don’t apologize,” Blake told him as they headed into the lounge.“You have nothing to apologize for.This is… this is a big step.You have every right to feel anxious.”
Inside of the private karaoke room, Marin picked up the tablet used to select songs, rifling through the options with a flick of his finger.
“I hope they have it,” he muttered.
“Is there a song you have in mind?”Blake asked as he grabbed at a box of complimentary tissue set off to the side.
“Ever seenLabyrinth?”Marin asked, sheepish.
“The one with David Bowie?”Blake recalled, wadding the tissue into earplugs.“Once or twice—is it a favorite of yours?”
“The songs are,” Marin explained as the crystalline synth tones of “As the World Falls Down” began to fill their private room.Picking up the microphone, the merman smiled, closed his eyes, and started to sing.
The earplugs worked, and although Blake became a little dozy, he managed to stay awake through the whole song.
Marin’s voice was as dreamy and ethereal as ever.Now that Blake was awake to appreciate it, he noticed a sort of clarity to Marin’s tone that he hadn’t taken note of before.He touched the high notes with such delicacy that the fine hairs on Blake’s forearms stood to attention.
Blake stared at Marin, enraptured as the merman’s voice wrapped around him like a silk ribbon in water.Somewhere in the back of his mind, images began to form, overlapping reality like a watercolor glaze:
Blake dreamt of coming home after a long day of work to Marin’s embrace.Cooking dinner together, Marin lovingly correcting his clumsy attempts to assist over the stove.Easing onto the couch, discussing their jobs, and admiring pictures of the art that Marin had been hard at work on that day.Brushing their teeth side-by-side before sliding into bed, Marin dozing off against his chest—
Blake melted out of the reverie as the song came to a close, ending on a clear, high note.
Blake looked down and realized that Marin was holding the tablet out to him.
“I don’t sing very well,” he mumbled, throat going dry as he accepted the tablet regardless.“But… I can give it a whirl.”
“The Tequila song doesn’t count,” Marin teased as Blake flicked through the options.He paused as he spotted a song, eyes darting between Marin and the tablet before pressing it.Orchestral tones filled the room, Marin’s expression fading to confusion.
“If I can’t impress you with my singing, I can at least make you laugh,” Blake said, voice echoing over the microphone as he picked it up.As the lyrics for “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith materialized on the screen, Blake began to belt out the words in a ragged falsetto.
Marin immediately dissolved into a fit of giggles, looking like he was about ready to roll off of the couch.“Blake!”
“I warned you!”Blake jabbed an accusatory finger at Marin before resuming his awful crooning.
Marin grabbed the spare microphone, striking a dramatic pose and beginning to shout the chorus alongside Blake, the words falling to nonsense around their laughter.By the time the song had concluded, the two had collapsed back onto the couch, foreheads pressed together as they wheezed and choked for breath.
Marin drew his eyebrows together, pressing a kiss to Blake’s temple.
“Thank you,” he said.“I really needed that.”
“No problem,” Blake told him, reaching up to ruffle his hair.
Once their session had concluded, the two decided to do some window shopping while they prepared for the gallery to open, heading down the side of the mall to see what other shops in the area were available.As they traversed the space, Blake glanced out of the corner of his eye at Marin, whose steps had started to slow down.He was staring over at Nijiya Market on the corner, eyes round and blank.
“Are you okay?”Blake asked.The sudden shift in his body language was palpable.Marin started gaining speed, jogging out past the store.“Babe?”Blake called out after him.
Marin didn’t respond, stopping short at the corner of Post and Webster, having become withdrawn.
