you guys play before…back then.” Kane snuck a look at Miki’s pale face, worried that he was setting too hard of a pace for Miki’s blown-out knee. “You must have had some really kick-ass shows.”
Miki wrinkled his nose, as if he’d just been served a large helping of bitter melon stew. “Not back then. I mean, there are a lot of places down here that have good music, but the ones that hired us were just looking for some background noise while everybody drank. We played covers mostly, and there were some nights we drank more than what we were paid, but it was fun. Mostly. Sometimes not so much, but that’s what happens when you’re in a band. This is the same place that we went to for Ichi, right? They’ve got a dog named… Earl.”
“Of course you remember the dog.” Kane chuckled. “Yeah, this is the place.”
“I remember the guys. We partied with them a few times, and Damie wants one of them—Gus—to do the artwork for our next album.” Another light with three more to go and the cold drizzle turned into a downpour. “Fuck, we’re going to be frozen by the time we get there.”
“Well, I know that they’ve got coffee going, so we’ll get some in you,” he said, reaching for Miki’s hand. The open intimacy wasn’t something they did often, and for a moment Kane wasn’t sure if Miki would let him, but Miki didn’t hesitate, threading their fingers together. “I really appreciate you coming down here with me. It means a lot.”
“Duh, why wouldn’t I? It’s really important to you,” Miki scoffed. “Like your—our—dad says, this thing is a two-way street and sometimes both of us have to drive, but we should always be willing to be the passenger for the other’s dream.”
“My da said that?” Kane slowed his stride as the sidewalk turned uneven. “Most of the advice I get from him is a reminder to breathe and to not try to cage you in.”
“Okay, so yeah, he says that more to Damie about me, but the sentiment’s the same. D gets a little hyper focused on the shit he wants to do and forgets about the rest of us, but I can usually yank him back.” Miki shrugged and edged in closer to Kane, an elegant feline grace to his walk. “Here, right?”
“Yeah. Here.” Kane stopped in front of the tattoo shop’s door to catch the moment before it passed. “Jesus, I’ve been waiting to do this for years.”
“Okay, so how about if we get the fuck inside and out of the cold?” Miki shivered again despite his heavy leather jacket. “I really need some coffee, and you really need some ink.”
It was a shock to see his father and older brother there in the shop. Kane couldn’t speak… couldn’t think past the bright sparkles of sentimental joy flowing through him. The hug from Connor was appropriately manly and brotherly, a bruising, rib-cracking moment; then came his father’s more gentle embrace.
Being held by Donal with Miki’s hand pressed between his shoulder blades brought Kane to tears. He should have been made of sterner stuff, but the Irish in him was strong, and his family cried… with sorrow and with joy. It wasn’t simply the hug. Everything about Donal wrapping his arms around him broke Kane’s soul open. It was the familiar scent of Irish Spring soap and the scratch of his father’s knuckles on his cheek where Donal brushed away a tear. The hint of butterscotch on his father’s breath was achingly sweet, a candy habit he never intended to break and one that always ensured he had a handful of treats in his pockets for his children. And it was the smoky echo of peat and fresh green in his father’s rumbling voice that always took Kane’s heart home.
“I’m glad the two of you are here,” Kane mumbled around his burgeoning emotions. “Funny, I just said that to Mick. Thought you guys had to work.”
“Yer better half gave a sound argument for us being here even after ye told us not to come down.” Donal’s chuckle was as rich as the whiskey he liked. “So it was either respect yer wishes or listen to him. Ye see what we’ve chosen.”
Kane cocked his head. “What did he say?”
“He told us to get the fuck down,” Connor interjected. “He seemed pretty serious, so I canceled my training session. And well, he’s right. This is something we should do together. Like the first