Cleaning out the attic has always been Lukas' favorite chore – he and Matthias always manage to find something interesting together.

Memories are bound to build up over the course of five years.

So much has changed.

Line Andersen ended up marrying Viggo Oxenstierna, making Berwald Mat's step-brother.

Emil is a sophomore in college, getting his music degree.

Tino and Berwald own a small pastry shop.

No one goes to band rehearsals anymore.

Lukas has long since grown out his side-shave in place of a more conservative haircut, just as Mat traded in his stupid bow ties for something more practical and less of a novelty.

Both of their quirks, however, remain intact.

Lukas still spends his evenings writing music and doing advanced mathematics while listening to hardcore punk.

Matthias still bangs away on his drums, and studies as hard as ever as he works on his classical history major.

His boyfriend, an economics major, reminds him that classical history majors have an incredibly low average starting salary.

Then Matthias tells him to go fuck himself, which would end up much, well, steamier than either one intended.

But this particular day, Luke wants to clean out the attic, to look through their old memories, to recall their shaky but impassioned beginnings.

Matthias obliges, and soon they're both sifting through old clothes, and Luke is laughing lightly as Mat asks whether he'll wear his torn skinny jeans again.

"The day I do that is the day I put my septum piercing back in," he replies as a fancy way of saying 'hell no', because his piercings haven't survived adulthood either.

Luke asks Mat why they have a framed photo of the time he finally got an 8192 tile on 2048, and they both smile as they remember how stupid that day was.

Initially, Lukas had said no to him when he asked for a picture of the event. 'Just take a screenshot,' he had said, but he snapped a picture anyway.

Apparently, it was such an important relic that it had kept for five years.

His boyfriend doesn't respond to the question; he has found something more interesting.

"Holy fuck, how old is this thing? It has a cassette player!"

Lukas smirks – everything's going according to plan.

"Wanna play something on it?"

Mat gawks. "Are you sure it'll work?"

He makes a show of walking over to the bin of old cassette tapes, but he the one he really wants is in his pocket (not that he wants Matthias to know that). "Won't know until we try," he replies as he hands him the tape.

Then, without further argument, Matthias plugs the cassette player in and puts the tape in place.

It starts with the sound of shuffling, of adjustment, of unsureness.

Everything suddenly goes silent, but soon enough, a voice cuts through – Lukas' voice, but he's five years younger and five years less experienced.

"Hey, Mat," he greets, totally lovestruck, as subtle as he tried to make it.

"I, uhh... Well, I'm not as good at this as Emil and Tino are, but I wanted to write you a song and, well..."

There's a pause. In the present, Mat looks at Lukas, who's blushing up to his ears, even after all these years.

"Look, this song sucks balls, okay? There's no way I'm ever showing this to you, but I... I just need to record this to get it off my chest. Wish me luck."

More shuffling and adjusting, then all falls dead silent again.

The first note is a D, and with a start Mat realizes that Luke's trying to play the piano.

Four measures go by, all low notes, peaceful and smooth and dark as the ocean on a windless day.

When the right hand comes in, everything grows hauntingly beautiful, and Mat's surprised of Luke's capacity to play something so delicate.

The storm of the first parts resolves and suddenly turns cheerful but almost melancholy as the chorus begins, and suddenly he understands.

It's bubbly, bright, rhythmic, but almost sad... Just like Matthias.

On the other hand, the 'verse' section (was that what he was supposed to call it?) is dark and mysterious and deep like Lukas.

The two parts bounce off each other disjointedly for a good portion of the piece as Lukas slowly draws closer to Matthias back in the present, wrapping a reluctant arm around him.

Sixteen year-old Luke's fingers stutter and trip over themselves as he transitions into the bridge, but then he pulls it together, the light and Matthias-style bass line meeting the dark and Lukas-like treble lines, moving in an uncannily perfect harmony before switching back to the chorus section and fading to a quiet but gorgeous ending.

The tape cuts off – that's all that's been recorded on it – and Mat turns to Lukas again, ready to tell him just how spectacular he thought the song was.

Instead, he sees a lovely golden wedding band, held up in front of his face. Lukas says nothing for the simple reason that there is nothing to be said.

"Yes," Mat replies to the unspoken question as soon as he can comprehend the meaning in all this. "Of course."

"I love you," Lukas said.

Their differences had always been vast – the straight-laced geek and the rebel punk, the outgoing social butterfly and the asocial introvert, a warm, brilliant flame and cool, flowing water.

But more amazing was the shocking number of similarities between the two. Both caring, both intelligent, and both in need of love.

They were only complete as one, as bandmates, as friends, as lovers, and as husbands.

"I love you too," Mat replied, and in that very moment, that was all that mattered.