"Hustle"

Another night has settled in a certain back alley apartment community. Somewhere, around unit 47, a  pink-haired woman can be seen talking to a silver-haired guy. The former was a rapper, while the latter is a story writer for a game company. The two were high school sweethearts who have an unconventional coming-together back at school.

"Another night of dropping sick fire eh, hun?" asked the silver-haired guy.

"You know it, Joshua!" replied the pink-haired woman, dressed in a black hoodie and jeans with a picture of a skull having a flower in place of one eye socket at the back. "Busy night again?" she asked.

"Yep, got this script I'm doing." the guy replied, opening his laptop on the table. "Give em fire CalliP." he bade his girlfriend goodbye with a kiss on her cheek. "I'm sure you're capable of it." he added, as Calli kissed him in return.

"All because I've got you, babe." Calli smiled sweetly at her beau. "Anyway, I've prepared dinner, it's in the fridge." she reminded Joshua. "Hope you like it." she smiled wryly, as she went along her way to the bar where she performs every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Silence settled as the woman exited the building, leaving the man to his own devices. Joshua looked around their shared home for a small while, his gaze falling on an ample collection of picture frames, dating from when they were studying back in Iridescent High. At the most prominent place among the collection is a picture of the couple on holiday in Mt Fuji, after Calliope winning big in a rap contest and Joshua successfully wrapping up a big screenwriting deal for a game's story, which ended up garnering critical acclaim thanks to his handiwork.

Eventually, Joshua went back to his work, a script for an upcoming game. Thankfully, it was something like shounen, which involves a lot more action. He then set to call on via Skype his workmates and got on to doing the script. Most of the talking was via chat, though they had voice on.

Later on in the evening, Joshua's phone rang: a text message from Calli, saying she's about to go live.

"Hey, show's boutta start. Wish me luck babe."

To which Joshua replied:

"Go get em, hun."

Joshua perked up at the thought, immediately opening up YouTube and finding her channel. Sure enough, he's in the virtual waiting room, all while still laboring away at his work, half-done at this rate. The writer eagerly awaited his beloved's live show, 10 minutes feeling like an eternity to Calliope's number one fan. Calliope on stage was DemonDice to many but a few. She was very stringent with keeping their things under wraps, so as to not attract intrigue from antis and rivals.

Soon enough, the countdown began and the show got underway. Conveniently, the dinner he microwaved got finished just in time for the opening segment. Calliope was main draw for tonight, as it was several months now. She meteorically rose in prominence after the producer seeing for himself the hard work and talent Calliope brought. Since hiring her, revenue has been through the roof, enough to afford supplies for a month and the occasional vacation.

Joshua then carried on typing, while listening to his beloved's rhymes. Soon, he was humming it himself, in alternate with "cheering" her on. The show lasted for a good couple hours and soon, it was time for Calli to exit. A few moments later, after putting away his dinner, he immediately called up Calli, muting his mic in the business call.

The woman in question immediately picked up, to her partner's relief.

"Hey, what's up? Liked my performance?" greeted the pink-haired rapper.

"Absolutely." Joshua smiled, as he answered her question. "Just ate the dinner you prepped, it's good" he told her.

"Thanks. Sorry I'm not able to prepare it the proper way nowadays, ye know, ye boi's a busy one…" she sighed. "Owner-san is once again amazed at the turnout for the night." she said.

"Well, that's my girl." he said.

"Hey, keep it down low, word travels fast yo." she gently warned him.

"...Oh, right…" the silver-haired man sighed, typing in a few more words in his project. "In a call with my colleagues at work... we're building this new game's story…" he said.

"Hey, bet that's gonna garner critical acclaim again." Calli said to him, making him blush. "We may write different things, but we still virtually both create with the pen." she reminded him.

"One of the things I like about you." he cooed. "Among many...many others."

"I've always liked shorter guys. And you.. you're the perfect lil' bundle." Calli praised him. "Anyway, I'll go check with the higher-ups, and I'll be home soon, ok?" she told Joshua.

"You do that." he idly replied. "I still have lots to write. Anyway, bye for now, my work mates need me." he told her.

"Mmm, bye." Calli bade him. A second later, the phone regained it's screen, and he put it down to activate his mic again. He explained that he was just talking to his housemate, who in reality was his lover.

The hours passed by and the sky grew darker, yet Joshua's work is not done yet. A few hours later, his mates all agreed to call quits and come back the next day. Joshua saved his work and shut down his laptop for the night, which actually was already dawn, at 2:13am.

"Hmm, must have been lots to talk about then, huh." he thought to himself, as he awaited his lover's arrival. He then lay on the sofa, playing games on his phone. He tried a variety of things to keep up, to no avail. Having gave up, he decided to sleep on the couch, so he can see when Calli arrives. To his perplexion, said female arrived a few minutes after he dozed off.

"Tadaima…" she said quietly, to not disturb the now-asleep Joshua.

"Okaeri…" he sleepily responded, giving Calli a slight jolt.

"Sumimasen, Joshua…" she apologized to her housemate/lover. "Made you wait, didn't I…" she said, scooting over to the sleeping figure on the couch to hug him.

"You sure did…" he responded groggily, but smiling nonetheless.

"Come on, that's no place to sleep dawg." she encouraged him. At her request, both immediately went into the bedroom, Calli half-carrying her sleepy lover to their quarters. She deposited him on the bed, then immediately proceeded to take off her jacket. It revealed a rather tight-fitting tank top, which accentuated Calli's womanly figure, particularly her breasts.

She then began doing away with her jeans, while her beau is sleepily sneaking a glance at his partner's ample ass.

"I know you're peeking you hentai." she said dismissively. "Not that I care, you've already seen much more, and besides…" she haltingly gasped, a bit embarrassed, "you're the only guy now I trust this body to." she finished, red as a tomato.

Joshua then slightly blushed, being called out by his long-time partner.

"Gotta admit, looking even better  after all those years." he smiled, eyes still closed.

"Just a little and I'll be there with ya man." she assured him, as she started changing into sleepwear, a band t-shirt and pajamas. She then soon plopped on the vacant space of the bed, fully occupying it.

"Hey man, sorry about making you wait." Calli said softly to him, snuggling up.

"Aye, I do understand. It's not like guys just can easily approach you or anything." he sleepily replied. "You're a tough girl, for one." he chuckled.

"Nah, I don't have time for them. What took my time though is this fella. Was accompanied by some otha' fellas." she said. "...and yeah, we had a few to drink." she said, immediately knowing that Joshua smelled her alcohol-laced breath.

"What did they have in store?" asked Joshua.

"You know...it's better I discussed that over breakfast yeah?" she sighed. "It's a lot to go through. For now...let's just rest…"she sighed, letting the male's arms envelop her. Said male's face was tucked snugly in between her partner's head and shoulder, somewhere along her nape. The two drowsed off, occasionally mumbling things like "hun" or each other's name.

Morning came, and Joshua was left alone on the bed still dozing, while Calli was in the kitchen doing breakfast, still clad in her shirt and pajamas. The pan can be heard sizzling while Calli herself was sitting down, scribbling what presumably are lyrics for yet another song. A few minutes later, her silver-haired lover got up and accompanied her on the table.

"Hey, smells good." greeted Joshua.

"Hell yeah. Today, we're having bacon and pancakes for breakfast!" Calli gladly announced. She then got up to pick up her pancakes, placing them onto a plastic plate. She then soon got to frying the bacon, long strips of pork fat and meat laid out on the pan.

"Sounds fun." Joshua smiled. His eyes then drifted to then pen and paper on the table. He then proceeded to read it while Calli was busy frying. Bacon doesn't take too long getting done, so said woman immediately joined her after depositing the bacon onto another plate.

"Like what you see, hun?" she suddenly asked Joshua, but he was prepared.

"Hmm? Yeah, although there's a few verses that kinda don't flow well…" he critiqued.

"Naruhodo ne." she nodded, sweeping the pen and paper away so they can start eating. Joshua began by saying grace before they started. Immediately after, they started on the pancakes. A few moments later, Joshua asked last night's unanswered question.

"So, what did those fellas want with you?" he asked her.

"Them? They told me they're agents of a record label. Galaxy Records. Really big boy stuff." she answered concisely. Joshua's face became curious, then happy.

"Galaxy Records? Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's a big label indeed!" he said. "Tell me, did they offer something?" he asked, while wolfing down a piece of bacon, making a crunching sound as he went.

“You better believe it hun.", Calliope winked at the silver-haired male. “This…can only take this thing I’ve been working on to higher levels. But...that’s even less time with you, with how busy this thing can get…” Calliope’s tone dropped, realizing the stakes. "But alas, no risk, no reward, eh?" she sighed, taking in a bite of the pancake.

"So I'm a risk?" snorted Joshua.

"N-no, I didn't say that hun!"  retorted Calli.

"Yeah, I know...But...the more things change, the more they stay the same huh?", the silver-haired man sighed, facepalming. "Sometimes...I just want a day where there's no pending commitments...just us in bed till afternoon…" Joshua said wistfully.

"And do what exactly then, huh?", the female teased her partner. "Anyway, they said they want a demo tomorrow." she said, going back to the topic.