#ex-fine

I LOVE ex-fine. Something about them makes me go a little crazy. Particularly the angst between Eichi and Tsumugi. I don't really ship Eimugi in a "I want them to date" way, I just kinda like to think about their angst together. More like a.. exes-ship...

Eichi Tenshouin

He didn't expect you of all people to leave the school after he ended your contract with fine, but off you went without another word. Of course this was all part of his plan to help out Yumenosaki Academy, but it did sting him a little bit to know that he lost a good... friend.

He still thinks about you, even a year or so later when he has a new group with him. He also thinks: are you mad at him for what he did? What if he didn't cast you away so easily... would you still be with him? Would you still be an idol? Especially since he thought you were such a wonderful, talented person. Was it his fault that you changed career paths?

Wataru keeps him from spiraling down into the pit of guilt, but can't seem to take his mind fully away from you. Is it love?

Then, unexpectedly, he spots your familiar face in the crowd right before a live.

"Eichi-kun~ hm?" After noticing his leader's stiff state, he joined him to peek through the curtain and follow his gaze. "Oh?"

You were sitting near the back of the auditorium, a poker-face plastered on. You looked quite different... more mature. Eichi wasn't sure if he missed your childish grin or was glad it was gone.

"My my," Wataru cooed. "It looks like an old friend has drifted back to us."

The leader of fine felt conflicted. Maybe stressed? One of his bony hands clutched onto his unitmates, trying to calm himself down.

He had the sudden urge to curl up into a ball and hide away from your gaze even before you even noticed him. Why, why out of all times he became so timid? And before you? Merely a year ago you two were close as classmates could be. Why did his his heartbeat quicken, or his hands start to become clammy?

The blue-haired male seemed to pick up at his antics, and barked out a laugh. "Why, Eichi-kun! What are you so anxious for? One of your old friends has come back to watch you, so we must give them a fantastic performance!"

Or rather: Later, not now.

Literally couldn't stop glancing at you throughout the live, and felt this weird sinking feeling whenever you didn't meet his eye contact.

He also couldn't spot an inch of emotion on you. Were you impressed? Disgusted? He really couldn't tell.

Eichi's anxious performances started to rub onto Tori, who almost messed up some of his parts. Thankfully Yuzuru and Wataru acted like the foundation for them, supporting the unit until the performance was over.

Felt like it went on for an eternity, but finally the song was done and fine bowed towards their fans. Sneaking another glance at you, Eichi flushed at the sight of you clapping politely towards the group. Him.

You wouldn't mind if he came up to you after this... right?

"Ah, [name]."

You turned around as you heard a familiar voice, facing Eichi. He was still in his idol uniform, so you gathered that he had came to you immediately after the performance. How he found you so quickly, you didn't know.

"Eichi," You said slowly, politely. "It's... nice to see you again."

The said male fiddled with his fingers, obviously wanting to say something but forcing to keep his composure. "I- I was pleasantly surprised to see you today. I hope you enjoyed."

The small smile you gave him released butterflies in his stomach. "Quite beautiful, I must say. You did a good job, Eichi."

You really think that? Even after all I've done to you?

"But you-"

You raised a hand, sufficiently silencing the blonde. "Whatever happened is now in the past," You said simply. "And I was an impulsive kid. And although I still cannot condone to your actions, I understand the stress you were under.

"I came to your live because I merely wanted to check on you, Eichi. I apologize for my sudden disappearance, so I did want to come back to make sure you were faring well... and to apologize."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," He almost pleaded. "I was the one being arrogant. It didn't strike me that I would ruin a dream for you, [name]. I didn't think that you would stop being an idol..."

A pained expression flashed on your face, making Eichi feel even worse. "Ah, yes..." You mumbled, then you shook your head. "No matter. I am happy with my current career path right now."

"..."

"I didn't come to have you berate yourself," You said softly, kindly. "I missed you."

Cerulean eyes stared at you in wonder, his pale skin flushing. Before he could open his mouth to respond, though, somebody from the other end of the hallway called his name.

Eichi turned towards the noise on instinct, but froze and shot you a conflicted look. "I... I do hope we meet again, [name]."

Giving him a smile that lifted him up to the clouds, you nodded. "I won't be going anywhere. So, yes."

Finally settling his inner conflicts, the two of you met regularly- a date as Wataru would call it (???)

Tori would find about your meetings and try to pry out anything bad about you to use against Eichi, but being as lovesick as he was everything negative about you he was deaf towards.

You made a sickly man happy. Good job :)

Tsumugi Aoba

Poor man isn't gonna comprehend it in time

What made you choose to leave? Well, actually, he knows... but being and idol entirely? Was your experience that bad?

Probably one of the first people to recover from your dissapearance (he has too much on his plate)

But whenever you or ex-fine is mentioned (which is rarely), he gets deep into his thoughts

Like

He really does miss you

Earning a punch from Natsume

So how is he going to react when he sees you working at his favorite coffee shop all of a sudden?

"Hello," The tired blue-haired man walked over to the counter, sleep prominent in his eyes. "Can I order a-"

"Tsu- Aoba?"

The idol literally snapped out of his tired daze and stared at the person in front of him: You.

"[name]??"

"Oh, wow, uh..." You chuckled awkwardly, trying a nervous smile. The male, on the other hand, stared at you in a frozen state as his mind became a jumble. "How- how are you doing?

"...!! A-Aoba!"

Man literally fainted

Like HOW HE IS ONE OF THE MOST MENTALLY STABLE PEOPLE OUT THERE (maybe not)

And plus he was tired af don't blame him :(

You helped him onto one of the seats and waited for him to wake up with a cup of coffee next to him

He woke up to the scent of strong coffee. Sitting up and groaning, he blinked to see you sitting next to him with a concerned gaze.

"Oh, good, you're awake," You let out a sigh. "Here's your coffee."

The male couldn't help but stare at you even when he reached for his drink. His glasses were crooked on his nose, and you resisted the urge to reach out an fix them.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you..." He muttered, looking terrible. "You had to take care of me..."

"It's fine, it's fine! You helped me out so much before, so consider this as payback!"

Tsumugi flinched slightly at the mention of the past, his grip on his cup tightening. "You... aren't mad? Sad? Anything?"

You scoffed, waving a hand. "Nah, I'm over it. Plus, being an idol was kinda too much for me. I prefer this much more."

"But then why did you leave without a word?" He blurted out stupidly. "I missed you...!"

Shutting his mouth as his face flared into a tomato, you grinned at his expression. "I- I mean of course I did! It's not all that weird, haha! ..."

"I missed you too," You cooed, resting your head on your hands. "Sorry if I made you feel sad. It was a stupid last-second decision I made. But now since I'm here, you don't have to worry about me leaving again!"

Poor boy is a mess

Remembers why he fell for you in the first place

Next few days he's in a light personality and it's genuinely scaring Natsume

Soon finds out that you came back

Deadass threatened you that if you broke his heart he would break your legs

So he DOES care for him

A revelation

He still gets punched though.

Nagisa Ran

Doesn't realize the impact you brought upon his life until you leave it

Literally cared less about you during his fine days. Wouldn't laugh at your jokes, ignore you, even go as far as to purposely forget your name

He didn't think you were a good enough friend for him

Karma is a bitch though

What happened to the jokes he would hear constantly? What about the little snacks he received during practices? Or gifts he found in his locker?

Yeah, no more. You are gone.

Doesn't realize it himself (Hiyori gets tired of his sullen attitude and breaks the news to him)

Vowing that he will repair the relationship as soon as he sees you again.

But you guys met a bit too soon.

Let's say... at an excavation spot?

What were you doing here? As far as Nagisa knew, you hated getting dirty. But there you were, on your hands and knees, digging for priceless artifacts.

His past self would get slightly irritated at the sight of this. Archaeology was his thing, not yours. He would have probably ignored you yet mindlessly competed against you to find the prettiest or rarest rocks.

Now, a year later, he's acting like a little puppy around you.

Much to his disappointment you didn't seem to recognize him, but that allowed him to be around you without worrying how you would act. You, being the bright ball of sunshine you were, accepted his appearance wholeheartedly and let him work right beside you.

He kept sneaking glances at you, secretly admiring your features (which he almost got caught but thankfully you didn't think much of it). Nagisa would also ask you questions he already knew the answer to just to hear your voice fill his senses.

He missed you so much.

"So, uh..."

"[name]!" You chirped. "You can just call me [name]."

"Right," He cleared his throat. "So... what brought you here?"

Sighing, you sat up straight and brushed the excess dirt off your pants. "An old friend of mine loved excavating. I haven't seen him in a long time, nor think I can confront him, so I tried this out for the hell of it. Now I get why he loved it so much."

A giddy feeling bubbled up in the male. You were doing it! For him! A small smile creased on his face, out of your sight.

"What about you?" You asked, wiping the sweat off of your forehead.

Nagisa shrugged, handing you a towel which you gratefully took. "It's rather calming for me. I come here whenever I have a day off from... work."

"Oh, I completely agree!" You nodded vigorously. "It really is nice! It helps me keep my sanity for my own job..." You ended with an uncertain laugh.

You... stopped being an idol?

Why would you do that?

"Anyways-"

"Why would you do that to yourself?" He muttered, his voice almost pitiful. You looked shocked, trying to covey what he was saying.

Red-orange eyes turned to you, his gaze lost yet questioning. "You were doing so well as an idol. You would've had a successful life."

"How do you- wait, Nagisa?" His heart clenched as you scooted away from him, your expression unbelieving. "Why-"

The male suddenly grabbed your hands tenderly, forcing you to drop your tools. He looked hurt, which was a revelation to you because he rarely showed emotion, even less towards you.

"Please don't run off," He whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was being such an idiot, and I treated you wrongly. Just don't... leave again."

You felt conflicted. The one person that you thought hated you was on his knees (well both of you were) apologizing sincerely.

"N-Nagisa..."

Things got too dramatic lmao

You forgave him

He kept apologizing

It just continued into a loop even when you guys would meet up after that fated reunion

Nagisa told Hiyori and he's now your number one fan

And shipper

You're scared of Ibara. Deadass.

Hiyori Tomoe

You were his partner! You were supposed to stick with him until the end! Why did you leave him so suddenly?

Baby got his heart broke

Literally sobbing

Whenever you were mentioned he would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day

Would even imagine scenarios of when you would meet him again

He would confess his love and you would love him back and-

Wait. Why were you with Jun?

"Ah! Ohii-san-"

"No!" The male hmph-ed, turning away from Jun like a little kid. "Don't talk to me!"

You and Jun exchanged helpless glances, which Hiyori saw and angered him even more. He was just going to mess with his little unitmate, but he sees you of all people laughing along with him! How long has he kept you in the dark? And how dare Jun meet you before him, the famous Hiyori!

"Hiyori, we were just hanging out," You tried, still used to his antics. "We weren't doing anything else."

"But I was supposed to be the first one you were going to see!" He whined, pouting as he faced you. "Plus, I'm still mad at you for leaving me so suddenly!"

Sighing, you glanced at Jun who seemed to get the message. The younger male left the room, closing the door behind him as you took a seat next to Hiyori, who crossed his arms and refused to make eye contact with you.

"Look, I was really trying to find you," You reasoned. "I just ran into him, and once I found out that he knew you, I thought he could help me."

"But you looked so close," The green-haired male mumbled, looking genuinely sad which wrenched your heart. "I didn't want to think I was going to get replaced..."

"Hiyori, look, you were one of my first friends," You continued. "Nothing's going to really top that."

"..."

You bit your lip. "And... I'm sorry for leaving you. I was just frustrated at the whole ordeal, and made a stupid decision. I was being selfish. Please..."

Your spirits lifted up a tiny bit as he finally looked at you in the eye. "You were being selfish," He scowled. "But at least you recognize it."

He then brought you into a tight hug, which you gratefully accepted. "But now that you're in my arms again, you're never leaving! And don't talk with Jun-kun ever again!"

"Hiyori..."

Things all worked out in the end

Hiyori kept his word and is extremely possessive over you. Mf won't even let you meet Nagisa (poor boy crying in the corner)

Jun and you exchange short convos whenever Hiyori isn't paying attention (you rarely get caught)

Tries to get you to become an idol again but you politely declined multiple times

He has no room to complain- i mean, that would mean a bunch of icky fans at your feet, and he would hate that!

You're still scared of Ibara.