It had been happening for weeks now, ever since the collapse of Platinum Jail.

At odd hours during the week, while Aoba was working at Heibon, Noiz would randomly appear, Bunny Cube in hand, and initiate the strangest conversations. He would always talk about music, Aoba noted, as he heard the shop door open and the now familiar sound of Noiz's footsteps along the floor. Noiz would attempt engage Aoba in talking of his favorite music, and while Aoba would usually be more than happy to extol Goatbed to anyone, he felt a little reluctant to share his enthusiasm with Noiz. Even after all they had been through taking down Toue and Platinum Jail, there was still a part of him that wasn't quite comfortable with the younger man's presence.

For the third time this week, the blond approached the counter, regarding Aoba silently for several seconds. The way in which he stared at Aoba was unnerving, mainly because Aoba couldn't read the expression. At first, Aoba had been confrontational about Noiz's presence, rudely asking why the hell Noiz was staring, which generally resulted in Noiz scoffing and leaving a few minutes later. But the older man soon grew tired of raising a fuss every time the other came into the shop, as he was clearly undeterred by Aoba's rudeness. Now, Aoba simply kept on working, drumming his fingers along the keyboard and watching a customer's order fill out on the computer screen. The silence dragged on, and Noiz kept staring with his unreadable expression. Aoba could feel his discomfort growing with each passing second, but he willed himself to keep calm and continued busily clicking away at keys.

"So," Noiz finally said, breaking the oppressive silence with his low voice, "If you had to pick a favorite song, what would it be?"

'Where the hell were these questions coming from?' Aoba thought to himself.

"Ai Catch," he responded quickly, glancing at the other man.

Now Aoba was faking it, pressing keys in no particular order to make it seem as though he was busy. Noiz didn't move, or avert his gaze, or even so much as blink. Aoba was growing impatient, and it was driving him crazy. After a few more agonizingly quiet seconds, Aoba broke.

"Why do you ask?" he sighed, turning his chair away from the computer, angling his body toward Noiz.

"No reason," the blond shrugged in his usual bored fashion.

"Hehhh?" Aoba wrinkled his brows in irritation as his jaw swung open, staring blankly at the infuriating creature in front of him, "No reason?! What kind of a person just asks that for no reason?"

Again, Noiz shrugged.

"Sing it," he said bluntly, his grip on Bunny Cube shifting slightly.

"What?" Aoba exclaimed, unsure he had heard the other properly.

"Sing it," Noiz repeated.

"Wha- Ai Catch? No! What makes you think I'd sing for you?" Aoba spluttered.

Nothing. Noiz simply shifted his weight to his left foot and stared at the counter.

This was another thing that came up whenever the blond entered the shop. He would somehow try to get Aoba to sing. The blue-haired man was completely aware of the fact that people found his voice attractive, and being asked to say certain things, or to sing, was not uncommon. But for Noiz, of all people, to ask that of him... Was this some part of Scrap that Aoba didn't know about? After a second or two of musing, Aoba sighed and went back to his false typing.

"If all you came to do was stare and ask me weird questions, you should go," he said, trying to sound as irritated as possible, "I'm busy today and I don't have time for this."

"No you're not," Noiz responded bluntly, "You've been faking it for a while."

'Shit,' Aoba mentally swore. Of course Noiz, of all people, would be able to pick up on that. Still, if Noiz knew he was faking, shouldn't he get the hint that it was time for him to go? Or was he blatantly ignoring that to make Aoba angry? If so, it was working. Aoba half-hoped the three little brats would come in and chase Noiz away.

Right when Aoba was out of patience and about to stand up and physically remove Noiz from the store, the blond silently turned around and headed towards the door.

"Bye," he muttered, absentmindedly tossing his Allmate up and down in his hand.

Aoba stared in confusion at the younger man's retreating back.

"What's with that guy?" Aoba asked no one in particular.

"Perhaps his odd behavior is worth looking into," said a deep voice near Aoba's feet.

Ren had poked his head out from the bag Aoba kept him in and was looking up at his owner expectantly, pink tongue protruding from his dark blue mouth.

Aoba reached down and pulled up the mass of blue fur, staring at his tiny dark eyes.

"You think?" he said, petting Ren, "Should we follow him then?"

"Following him would most certainly lead us to answers," Ren responded promptly.

"Right."

Aoba glanced at his Coil. 4:30, almost time for Heibon to close. Haga-san surely wouldn't mind if he left a little early, would he? Getting up from his chair, Aoba placed Ren in his bag and left the store, locking the door behind him.

"Ren, can you sense Noiz or his Allmate nearby?"

"Yes. Bunny Cube is approximately 15 meters away and heading west."

"Can you navigate?" Aoba asked, running off.

"Understood."

Aoba followed Noiz around through the back streets of the Old Residents District for a while, winding through the different pathways.

"Just where does this guy think he's going?" Aoba murmured, shimmying between a dumpster and a brick wall.

"He seems to be heading towards an apartment complex on the edge of town," Ren informed him, sticking his head out of Aoba's bag.

After a moment's pause, Ren spoke up again.

"Yes, it would seem Bunny Cube has come to a stop in one of the apartments."

"Is that where Noiz lives?" Aoba mused, "I guess I never really thought about it before, but I suppose it suits him…"

Emerging from the alleyway, Aoba saw a tall apartment complex rising into the sky. From the outside, the apartments seemed to be crammed together and the building itself was in disrepair. His hazel eyes swept over the building, taking in all the details and trying to see it as the place Noiz lived.

"Which one is he in?" Aoba asked Ren.

"Judging from Bunny Cube's location, Noiz should be in the one on the fifth floor, third to the right," Ren nodded his head and shook his tiny paw in the general direction of said apartment.

Aoba approached the door, testing it to see if it was locked. It swung open with a creak.

"This place has great security," he commented dryly.

The hallway inside was dim, lit only by a few hanging fluorescent lights, giving the place an eerie, abandoned feeling. Carefully, the nervous man placed his foot on the first step of the staircase, half expecting it to collapse under his weight. The step held, thankfully, but protested against being stepped upon by giving off a loud groan. Aoba winced, hoping nobody would be alerted to his presence. When no one appeared, he pressed forward, climbing the rickety stairs to the fifth floor. Counting the doors, he came to the one Ren had mentioned.

"Bunny Cube is indeed behind this door," Ren said calmly.

Even knowing that, Aoba was beginning to regret this. Why had he followed Noiz, and to his home of all places? How would he explain himself? Rooted to the spot, Aoba debated between sating his curiosity and just leaving. Turning on his heel, he made the move to leave and forget this entirely.

And then a sound reached his ears. Music was creeping out from Noiz's apartment into the hall from the crack under the door. Aoba stopped, tuning his ears to the sound. It wasn't a song he'd heard before. The bass in the music tickled his eardrums, while the scratch of a melody being stopped and started again made his heart beat faster. The fast pace and somewhat edgy sound reminded him of Rhyme. Without thinking, Aoba approached the door and turned the handle.

The moment the door opened, the rest of the music spilled out to Aoba's ears. Heavy guitar riffs and loud piano chords layered in over the thumping bass. It wasn't exactly Goatbed, but there was something about it that he definitely liked.

Noiz was sitting on the floor amidst empty take out boxes and computers. His fingers flew over the keys in time to the music, flicking switches and sliding bars on a control panel near his hip. His face, which was usually set in a bored frown, now held traces of a smile as his head bobbed with the beat. Noiz's pierced tongue was clenched between his teeth in his concentration. Aoba stood in the doorway, dumbstruck to see Noiz enjoying himself. He had only ever seen the man look even remotely alive when he was in Rhyme.

As the song drew to a close and the bass faded out, Noiz gave a small, satisfied nod, pulling his tongue back into his mouth and setting his lips to his normal blank look. He moved his fingers across the keys again, the computer making a series of confirming beeps and switched off. It was only when the screens disappeared and he moved to get up that the blond noticed Aoba's presence.

Noiz froze, mid-crouch, as his eyes met Aoba's. His light brows knit together in confusion, as though he doubted what he was seeing. But just as quickly, his expression returned to blankness. Standing up all the way, he stuck his hands in his pockets and tilted his head back in a sort of condescending manner.

"So you saw that, huh?" he asked Aoba, his voice not giving away any emotion.

"Uh…" Aoba's jaw hung slack, searching for words that could possibly make this situation less awkward, "I...I didn't know you made music."

Noiz made a light 'tch' sound.

"Did you follow me?" he shot at the older man in his doorway.

"I...It's your fault!" Aoba protested lamely, "Coming into Heibon whenever you pleased, asking me those weird questions...I thought something was up!"

Noiz looked at his feet and shifted his weight, broodingly silent. They stood there in silence, Aoba having half a mind to turn and run, but he couldn't seem to move his feet.

"Hey…" he tried again, shakily this time, "I really liked the song. It sounded good."

"Really?" Noiz glanced up at Aoba, raising an eyebrow. Though his face was still blank, Aoba could see a glimmer in the younger man's eyes.

"Y-yeah," he continued, "It...kinda reminded me of what it's like to play Rhyme. I don't know why…"

"Music makes me feel alive like Rhyme does," Noiz stated, but did not elaborate.

"So this is what you do when you're not playing? You sit in here and make music?"

"Mmm," Noiz grunted in affirmation, absentmindedly kicking a takeout box.

Something about Noiz's behavior reminded Aoba of a small child. The random conversations at Heibon made sense now. In his own odd way, Noiz had been trying to include Aoba in this thing that made him happy. Suddenly, he couldn't suppress the giggle that came up through his throat. Noiz was so childish, embarrassed about the fact that he liked to make music. One giggle led to another, and soon Aoba had a hand clamped over his mouth in an attempt to stifle them. Noiz glared at him.

"Is the fact that I like music funny?" he challenged indignantly, obviously hurt.

"No, no!" Aoba chuckled, a warm smile spreading across his face, "I think it's kinda cute, actually."

That remark caught the other off guard. His eyes widened briefly, and his gaze went straight back to his toes.

"Cute…" Noiz muttered, "What the hell kind of adjective is that?"

"This is what those conversations have been about, right? At Heibon." Aoba pressed, moving a step closer, out of the doorway and into the room.

Noiz mumbled something unintelligible, not looking up.

"Hmm?" Aoba asked, his voice coming out sweeter than he'd intended.

"...wanted you to sing...for me…" Noiz repeated, a little louder this time, shuffling his feet and scratching the back of his neck.

"Sing? Me?" Aoba recalled times in their conversation where Noiz had requested that he sing, and how he'd outright refused. Had Noiz been trying to use that to introduce Aoba to his hobby? How many times had he asked the blue-haired man to sing, only to be turned down?

"I wanted to use your voice in one of my songs," Noiz said quickly, snapping his head back up so he was staring down his nose at the older man, "I figured you would have a good singing voice."

He stared down the blue haired man for a while as Aoba tried to process the turn their conversation had taken. With a shake of his head and a smile, Aoba chuckled.

"Why didn't you just ask me? Would it really be that hard?" he asked, tilting his head.

Noiz's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I'll sing for you," Aoba said, punctuated with a small snicker and an eyeroll, "And next time you want something from me, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

The other man looked as though he couldn't believe his ears, but soon his look of disbelief changed. The corners of his lips tilted up slightly, and he shook his head, letting out a small chuckle.

"That simple...honestly, I don't understand you."

He sat back down on the floor and started up his computer. Aoba cleared a space next to him and sat down.

"So, shall we begin?"