"Mika! I have to tell you something!" Lacus exclaims as he bursts through the bar doors.
"If it's about that mystery black haired boy everyone has been talking about then I don't want to hear it. That is all I've heard all day and it's getting rather annoying." I retort as I finish wiping down the counter.
"But Mika, I've seen him and he is smokin hot if I do say so myself." He states happily.
"Lacus, you have a boyfriend." I point out.
"And I'm a looker. Rene knows that so it's fine. He wouldn't be able to get me to stop if he tried. I check out other guys, and sometimes girls, but they aren't as interesting. You already know what they have and most of them flaunt it. It's kind of annoying." He shrugs his shoulder as the bell over the door rings. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Lacus giggles as his boyfriend wraps his arms around his waist and places a kiss on the back of his neck.
"I'm surprised you can walk after last night." Rene mumbles just loud enough for me to hear.
"Likewise." Lacus smiles and kisses the black haired male.
I roll my eyes. "Can you guys not talk about your private activities in front of me. I really don't want to know what goes on behind closed doors."
"Why do you always sound so shocked? It's no secret to you. I mean, come on, we've been friends for 10 years. You're bound to hear about it sooner or later. Maybe even participate sometime." The purple haired man smirks.
"Ew, no thanks. And for your information, I would rather not hear about it every other day. Especially while I'm working."
"You're loss." He shrugs. "Oh well, I'll see you later." He then grabs Rene's hand and pulls him out of the bar.
I mix a few more drinks and fill some others before working on putting some things up for the night. Once everyone is gone, I lock the door and fall into one of the table chairs.
It's been three years since I opened this bar and it has gotten pretty busy within that time. I have three regulars. Ferid, Guren, and Lacus.
Ferid is a silver haired pervert with bright red eyes and hair that goes to his waist. He works as a defense attorney in Shinjuku but often stays home to do work unless the case has to go to court.
Guren is a former military Luetenant that fought in the battle at Nagoya 15 years ago. He is married to a doctor by the name of Shinya Hiragi.
And Lacus... is Lacus. There is nothing much to him. A former college student that fell in love with a man that took a day to lecture his class on human anatomy and they have been together ever since. That being four years.
I'm a 24 year old that graduated high school, completed two years worth of college, and lives in the upstairs apartment of my bar. My mother wasn't very fond of it at first but she warmed up to it after a while. She doesn't come around much since she lives in Nagoya but she visits every once in a while.
I love working here, but it gets a little overwhelming sometimes. Fridays and Saturdays are the worst but it still isn't super busy compared to other bars in my area. But, since I'm the only one that works here, it gets difficult when I receive more than 30 customers at a time.
I stood up from the chair and shut off the lights before heading upstairs towards my living quarters. I washed my hands in the sink, changed for bed, and climbed under the covers. I pulled out my phone and got on Instagram. I scrolled through the pictures for about five minutes before closing the app. Turning off the screen, I put it in the charger and set it on the nightstand.
Tomorrow is Friday. It is also one of my busiest days. It's tempting to pull an all nighter so tomorrow will come slower but I knew that it would weaken my performance. I had to sleep no matter how much I didn't want to.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and allowed my body to succumb to the silent nothingness known as sleep.
_________________________________________
The light of the early morning woke me from my slumber. I groaned as my alarm went off soon after and someone knocked on the door downstairs. Just faintly, I could hear the voice of Lacus telling me to let him in.
Deciding that he can wait, I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, run my hands through my hair, and change into a pair of skinny jeans and a plain t-shirt. Finally, I grab my phone off the nightstand, slip it into the back pocket of my jeans, and head downstairs, mentally preparing myself for the hyper purple haired male that never fails to show up the minute I wake up.
"If you ask me, you take longer and longer to get ready each morning." He complained as he brushed by me.
"Nobody asked you." I retorted.
"So mean Mika." He pouted before replacing his pout with a smile. "Anyway, besides work, what are you doing today?"
"Nothing. It's Friday Lacus." I point out as I move behind the counter to start getting things ready for later. I know I don't open until 5:30, but I like setting everything up for easy access. It's more convenient that way.
"Ugh, you're so boring Mikaela!" He groans, causing me to freeze and look at him in question. "What?" He asks looking at me with a quirked eyebrow.
"Either you were kicked out of the house again or someone died because you just called me Mikaela." I deadpanned.
"Yeah, isn't that your name?"
"I mean it is, but you never call me my full name. It's always Mika or some wierd name you come up with on the spot." I reply. "Are you sick?" I press the back of my hand to his forehead. He shoves me away.
"I'm fine Mikael- Mika." He snaps.
I jumped back before turning my gaze away. "Sorry." I mumble.
He sighs. "No. I'm sorry. I just couldn't sleep last night and Rene never came home. He said he was going to a friend's house and would be back later. He won't respond to any of my texts, answer any calls, and he never left a note. He wasn't even home when I got back from Asura's yesterday."
I stay silent, not sure what to say to this. Lacus is normally hyper and talkative so seeing him like this is unsettling. It worries me when he is anxious or upset like this. His head is in his arms on the bar, slightly ragged breathing escaping his lips.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asks as his voice cracks lightly. "I know we fought a bit yesterday but it was like normal. It was nothing major." He lifts his head and looks me in the eyes. "What if he left me? What if that was it for him? What if I said something and didn't realize it? Mika what do I do?" A tear slips down his cheek as he says the last part.
It pains me to see my normally strong and childish friend so broken. I walk around the bar and sit next to him.
"I'm sure you didn't do anything. He probably just needed a breather so he wouldn't hurt you again." I reassure him as I remember the night he ran through the rain and cried in my arms because Rene had lost his temper and struck him. Of course we both know he sometimes has a hard time containing himself and lashes out so that is something we managed to grasp.
When he is angry, Lacus either comes here and stays with me, or Rene leaves and stays with a close friend or hotel room for the night. Normally, they are talking the next morning and having fun like nothing ever happened so, of course, I was worried as well since this isn't like the dark haired boy at all.
"You're probably right, but why wouldn't he say anything first? Leave a text or a note or something?" He asks.
"I don't know, but I'm sure he has a good reason for it." Whatever that may be.
He nods as my phone goes off. I consider not answering it, but Lacus just shrugs an looks away. Hesitantly, I pull the device out of my pocket and look at it. Surprisingly, I find a text from the man in question. I open it and, before I could tell Lacus, read the first message.
Rene
Hey, I know Lacus is probably with you right now but don't tell him that I texted you
I have two things I need you to do for me because this is extremely important
First I need you to tell Lacus that there is an outfit in the back of his closet that he needs to put on
Second take him to our special place
He'll know what you're talking about
I look up at the upset purple haired male with skepticism running through my mind from the texts I received. Slowly, I responded with a simple 'k' before pocketing my phone again.
I wait a minute before speaking. "Hey Lacus, why don't we do something. Distract you for a bit."
"But it's Friday." He mocks my earlier words.
"It's fine as long as I'm back by 5 it's alright. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I left you to sulk while I busied myself with something I can wait to do." I smile. "Now let's go to your place."
"Why?"
"Because you need to change."
"What's wrong with the one I have on?"
"Nothing, but I don't think you want to go out in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt."
He thinks about this for a minute before nodding. "Yeah I guess."
He stands up and I let out a breath. I don't know what Rene is planning but, to be honest, I'm nervous. He is never this secretive. Especially with Lacus.
We get into his car and he drives us to his house. We pull up and go inside, going straight to his and Rene's shared room.
He opened his closet and I immediately looked towards the back of the closet and found a pair of white skinny jeans and a blood red shirt. I pulled it out and held it up.
"What about this?" I ask.
He looks at it before a small smile graced his features. "I didn't know I still had that outfit."
"What's it from." I ask curiously.
"It's the outfit I wore on our first date three years ago. In fact, today is our fourth anniversary." He replies.
"Well, you could celebrate the occasion a bit and wear it. Heck, we could even go to the place you had your first date at." I added.
He giggles before whispering. "Our special place." His eyes meet mine. "Yes, let's do it."
I smile as my friend begins to perk up a bit. "I'll leave you to change and then we can go."
True to my word, I step out of the room as he changes. When he's finished, we get back in the car and he takes us to their special spot. The spot he told me to take him.
About five minutes later, we arrive and are walking through a forest of Sakura trees, the pink petals covering the ground.
As we walked, I glanced over at Lacus. He has a small smile on his face as he looks at the trees in awe, his eyes shining with memories and a bit of sadness too. I looked away and, in the distance, spotted a dark haired figure wearing black skinny jeans and a light blue shirt. I nudged Lacus and nodded in the person's direction.
"Hey! That's the boy everybody keeps talking about." He exclaims. "Hi! Over here!" He waves as the boy glances over. Without warning, he grabs my wrist and pulls me towards him. As we get closer, he starts looking more and more familiar. Once we were about 10 yards from him, the boy looked at us with a pair of forest green eyes.
I froze at the sight of the male. He did too as his eyes widened in shock.
"Y-Yuu-chan?" I question hesitantly, believing that it was too good to be true.
"Mika." He smiled.
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Because of the lack of words, I pulled him into a hug and buried my face in the crook of his neck. He hugged me back and a soft giggle left his lips.
"It's going to be okay. I'm okay." He said.
I pull away and look at him fully. "How? When?" I splutter.
"Not long after you left. I was tested again and there was no sign of me ever being injured, save for the small scar on my chest. The doctors say it was a miracle I made it out alive. They were all convinced I would die." He replied. "As for how, no idea. One day I'm in a coma with close to no chance of surviving and the next I am being rushed to an operating table to have a surgery done and some x-rays taken. After about a year of constant doctors appointments, I was let go with nothing more to worry about."
I just stared at him in disbelief before a throat was cleared and the two of us turned out attention to a purple haired male with a curious look in his eyes.
"Oh, Lacus, this is Yuu. Yuu, this is Lacus." I smile.
"Nice to meet you Yuu." Lacus smiles before turning to me with an accusatory glare. "So you know the hottie everyone has been spreading rumors about and didn't tell me!"
This is when Yuu-chan started laughing. We both looked at him with confused expressions as he attempted to calm down.
"Alright, I don't know who has been calling me a so called 'hottie' but they must've been thinking about someone else. And what have the rumors been? I'm curious."
"I think the more important question here is how you two know each other." Lacus exclaims.
"Remember the boy I talked about a long time ago? The one I said got into that accident before my mother forced me to move away?" I ask.
"Ye- oh! This is him!" He squeals in excitement.
"Yes, this is him." I nod.
He just stares in awe at the green eyed male in front of me. "This is the one you dated for three years before breaking up through a letter because of the distance and the accident and your parents and-"
"Yes Lacus!" I cut him off.
Yuu giggled. "Same ol' Mika." He then kissed me on the cheek causing me to blush.
"Oh my gosh Mika can get flustered!" Lacus yells happily.
"Yeah, it's pretty easy to do when you have bright green eyes that you can tease him with." Yuu smirks causing me to blush harder and groan before hiding my face in my hands.
I can feel teasing green eyes analyzing me as Lacus laughs. His laughter is cut short when my phone starts ringing. I glance down at the screen and find Rene's name on the screen. Yuu looks at it over my shoulder and, before he could fully see the name, I answer the call. "Hello?"
"Hey, are you here yet?" He asks.
"Yeah, we are down by the... bridge." I trail off as I spot his distant figure standing on the bridge I was just talking about. "Give us five minutes." Then I hang up.
"Who was that and what's with the five minutes?" Lacus questions.
"Oh, um, we are actually meeting someone here." I say quietly.
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's on the bridge." I point over at the arch of wood crossing over the water.
He glances over my shoulder and spots the male that troubled him this morning.
"Is that who I think it is?" He asks.
I nod. Slowly, he starts walking over to the bridge with Yuu-chan and I following with our hands interlaced.
When we arrive, Lacus doesn't say a word as he stops within five feet of the other male.
"I know, you are probably frustrated and angry with me right now, but please, allow me to explain before you say anything." Rene says softly, his eyes downcast.
(Lacus's POV)
I watches Rene's movements carefully, my arms wrapped around my torso as I wait for the dark haired male to continue speaking.
"Lacus, I know there are times that I haven't been the best boyfriend to you. Honestly, there were times I was so frustrated with myself that I couldn't stand being around you because of how perfect you are. You are kind, caring, have a beautiful personality, and more love to give me than I feel necessary." I take in a short breath that shakes a bit as it leaves again. I want to speak and ask him where he's been and why he never told me anything but a part of me feels as though I'm going to ruin everything if I do.
"When we first met, I never could have imagined that you would mean this much to me. After knowing you for two years, I couldn't stand the thought of anyone hurting you or taking you away from me. When we got together and had our very first date right here, on this day, in these very same clothes three years, I knew it would be hard to let you go if that ever came to pass. After being with you for so long, I can't even imagine a life without you in it. I don't want to wake up and feel regret because you aren't there beside me. I don't want to do anything without you. You have made me better than I thought I could ever be and that's all because of one choice that was made six years ago. I don't want to see you in someone else's arms. Lacus, I want to be with you forever. I want to live the rest of my life with you."
I could feel myself tearing up as what he was saying started to click in my mind. I couldn't believe what was happening. A part of me wanted to believe that this isn't what it was but I knew that it was.
"I love you Lacus, I always have and I always will. So, will you promise to be with me forever," He pulls something out of his pocket and slowly starts getting down on one knee. I covered my mouth with my hands as a tear slipped down my cheek. "And be my husband. Lacus, will you marry me?"
The ring box is opened to reveal a simple silver band with two diamonds. Two vine like pieces were weaving around each other.
Not finding the words to speak, I jump in his arms and kiss him without shame.
I can hear his laugh as I hug him close.
"So is that a yes?" He asks almost hesitantly. I pull back and nod as his gorgeous red eyes fill with happiness. Carefully, he takes the ring out of the box before placing it on my hand to seal our promise.
Our lips come together and I can feel his smile as we sit in the moment, not wanting to leave.
(Mika's POV)
I smile at the scene as Yuu squeezes my hand. I look at him and smile before facing him fully.
"Yuu-chan, I hope you know that after all this time I still love you just as much as I did before leaving you. If I'm being honest, I love you even more than before. I want to be with you again. If possible, I want to be with you forever. I know it's too early to propose but I hope that one day I will be able to put a ring on your finger as well. That is, if you'll have me for that long." I say, both of his hands in mine as he smiles softly.
"Absolutely." He nods before pulling me in for a soft kiss. A kiss that I have been waiting for ever since I left. I was never doing that again. He pulls away with a smile before mocking a stern look. "When we get to your place, you have some explaining to do."
"I'll answer anything you want to know. Only if you do the same." He giggles in return before sighing and looking back at Lacus and Rene.
The two are looking down at the calm water with wide smiles on their faces, Rene's hand on Lacus's hip and his other connecting their hands in front of them. They were happy and will be together forever.
"I love you." Yuu-chan whispers in my ear.
"I love you too." I smile at him before pulling him into my side.
And to think, I could've been reunited with my Yuu-chan earlier if I had listened to the rumors.