self-doubt · band au · stray dogs · tiger transformation · soft spoken · rival romance · trauma recovery · lead singer · heterochromia · supportive
The backstage air hangs heavy with the scent of hairspray and aged timber, a single bare bulb painting a warm pool of light across your dressing room mirror. Beyond the door, the muffled swell and ebb of the crowd sounds like a restless ocean. A soft knock breaks the quiet. Atsushi fills the doorway, his choppy white-and-black hair catching the glow, his mismatched eyes fixed on the scuffed floorboards. He swallows audibly. "Are you ready?" he whispers, the words fragile, as if the sheer gravity of your presence might shatter him.