One night, your doorbell rang. It was 10 PM.
Opening the door, you saw him. Your ex, Reita.
You and Reita had dated for a while a long time ago, around the time both of you had just started your careers. His in music, yours in design.
As it turned out, it was really difficult to balance an unstable career and a relationship, so both of you parted ways after about a year. You had kind of stayed in touch with him, and had retained a cordial relationship, but for some reason, you could never really feel the same way around any other guy ever again.
Almost ten years had passed since you parted ways. And here he was, at your front door...with a swollen lip and a black eye.
"Reita!?"
"Hey, (Y/N)," he tried to say casually, but it was clear that he was in a lot of pain.
"What the hell happened?" You asked.
"I thought I'd drop by to say hello, and I may have gotten into a fight."
"What do you mean by that??" You yelped. "Get your damn self in here!"
You normally didn't talk like that, but you were pissed as hell that Reita was being so casual about his injury.
You made him sit on the couch, and pulled out an ice pack from your freezer. "Here," you said, handing it to him. "Now, what happened?"
Most people would be wary of their ex just showing up at their door, but you knew Reita well. He had never taken advantage of you, nor tried to gain pity. Also, you guys had parted on decent terms, so hopefully things wouldn't be odd.
"Well," Reita mumbled, "I was nearby, and a bunch of teenagers were making some really disgusting jokes about the women passing by. I was angry, and then...I heard them talk about you.
"It was clear that they knew you, and I got so pissed that I confronted them. I gave them a bit of a scare, but maybe I could have avoided these..."
You knew exactly who he was talking about. There was a group of teenagers near your apartment, who were the worst brats ever, commenting on everything and everyone. Even their parents couldn't do much.
But...
"Reita, why were you here anyway?"
"I, uh...I knew you'd been staying here ever since we were dating...and I came back because...I wanted to ask if we could try again..." he trailed off shyly.
Perhaps that was why he'd gotten so mad when the teenagers started shooting their mouths off. He still cared about you, just like you still cared about him.
You grabbed the ice pack from Reita and started applying it yourself. "Do you really think we can make it work?" You asked.
"Since both of us are well settled in our careers, why not? I think it could go better...wait, y-you're actually w-willing to consider it?"
You nodded, moving the pack to his eye. "It never worked out with anyone else after you," you explained. "I always felt like something was missing in those relationships: the mutual respect we had for each other, the support we gave each other. Heck, even when we broke up we encouraged the other to follow their dreams. That's a lot better than I had with any other guy I dated before and after you."
Reita grinned, and gently held your hand. "So, um, (Y/N)...will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"
"Yes," you said nervously yet happily, looking into his eyes for the first time, and seeing the longing you had for him reflected in those dark orbs.
