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Everything was ready for the big day, the flowers had arrived, dinner was ready at one of the fanciest restaurants in Tokyo, all the clothes were ready and ironed. The tension in the air was definitely palpable and not in the way you would think.
Gojo was dreading the idea of the wedding. His had never been successful, and after the third marriage that lasted no more than a year, he had given up on it. In the end they had never been marriages for love, but mainly for his enormous inheritance.
It was burdensome to be the son of famous Japanese actors, and certainly having adopted two little boys in his early twenties had not exactly put him in a good light.
"Dad calm down! I am more than sure of my choice! We've been together for more than eight years, it was obvious he was going to propose!" chuckled Tsumiki, stroking Gojo's back. "I know but...I should accept that you have grown up!" replied the man almost in tears. A sweet smile spread across the face of the girl, now a young woman whom Satoru had raised with love and effort.
"Dad, stop being so dramatic. Your daughter is getting married tomorrow, be happy for her." Megumi sat down beside them, his cold, distant tone echoing through the living room. "Always so mean, Megumi," Satoru said in an almost childish tone, "I am more than happy for her! You know I want only the best for my princess!" he said, clutching the girl to himself.
"I love you very much dad, and quietly I will always remain your little princess," she giggled as she hugged Satoru. "Anyway, to recap, tomorrow morning at five o'clock the makeup artist arrives and more or less by six o'clock we should all be finished" at the end of the speech she took his hands and with a sweet smile asked him "do you want to help me with the hair and the dress?"
It was almost automatic, just hearing these words made Satoru burst into tears. Why was his daughter asking him this? Hadn't it already been enough to make him cry when she asked him to walk her down the aisle?
"Oh?- Miki...of course I do! oh fuck...I need a tissue-" the man said as he got up and walked toward the kitchen.
Gojo was speechless, he could feel his own heart beating in his own chest like a drum. He had always been so proud of his children, model children. If there was anything that could not make him disappointed, it was definitely his kids.
He could not know that his daughter had prepared a surprise for him. "Megumi ... I might have done something ..." she said as she looked at her brother "what have you done? Are you pregnant? How long have you known? Why are you only telling me now?" The panic in his voice made the scene almost ironic. "What? No! Of course not! Megumi, I'm not pregnant!" The woman justified herself by putting her hands out and laughing at the boy’s reaction. "no, don't worry...however- a while ago I found dad's old phone and found out a few things," she smiled evilly.
"What did you find out?" asked the boy curiously, "Well, apparently dad had a boyfriend when he was young but, in their last year of high school they had a fight. And you will say, it can happen, right? However, I found out that this infamous gentleman wanted to renew his relationship with dad, because he has always loved dad but when he was young he was too scared to say that to him. Then they took different paths and he was encouraged by his daughter to try and contact him!" she said smiling "I still don't understand what you're trying to say" said Megumi, looking at her confused.
"A few days ago I received this call by an unknown number. I didn’t respond at first but then I answered, since they were insisting. It was one of his daughters that explained a small part of the story. So a few days later I called this man, and we met. We talked about dad and the 'good old days,' and then ... I might have invited him to the wedding," she said excitedly.
Megumi looked at her dumbfounded “and he accepted?" he simply asked "at first he was uncertain, apparently dad yelled at him that he didn't want to see him anymore, however, I convinced him. He will come to the wedding!" he said smiling.
"Dad will kill you with his own hands when he finds out" shrugged the teenager "when he finds out it will be too late!"
"Who do I have to kill?" looked at them confusedly as Satoru re-entered the room, his blue eyes as red as blood. "No one Dad, don't worry," smiled the girl, hugging him and stamping a kiss on his cheek.
"Alright, I'll go finish the errands for tomorrow! see you later!" said Satoru leaving the house shortly after, not without ruffling the hair of a (not very) happy Megumi and leaving a sweet kiss on Tsumiki's forehead.
"Well, now you've made me curious. Did this man tell you what happened between them?" Megumi sat on the couch looking at the girl. "More or less, he said they had a fight because apparently this Geto guy was supposed to move practically to the other side of Japan, but he didn't tell dad until the day before. Although it was Auntie Shoko who told Dad. Apparently, Dad made a scene in public in front of all the passersby, he yelled a lot of not very nice things at him." she said.
"Are you really sure he should come to the wedding? I mean, it doesn't seem to me that they broke up exactly on good terms-" the boy's confusion was reasonable, although Satoru was a pain in the ass, he was still their adoptive father. He had rescued them from the streets, bringing them from a state of abject poverty to one where they could afford to make trips to the most luxurious stores all over Tokyo.
Was this the way the two wanted to repay their benefactor? To reopen a wound that perhaps had never actually been closed? Were they really willing to see their father, who had always loved them, sad and hurt over a stupid surprise?
"I know it sounds bad right now, however, there is more to it than that. A while ago, when I was cleaning the basement, I found this!" The girl pulled an old straw-yellow flip phone out of her bag, the background photo was two boys, a young Satoru Gojo, with eyes full of life and love. The two had never seen Satoru smile so much. Sure, he was laughing but his eyes had never been so bright, shining with happiness. next to him they could see the figure of another boy with violet eyes and a pigtail (obscene according to Megumi), smiling next to their father. This boy looked at Satoru as if he were a precious diamond, Tsumiki had seen that kind of smile on very few occasions, and mainly from her fiancé.
"One of the last chats was with this boy, this man. And well-despite the fact that Dad had blocked him, a few weeks ago he texted him!" she cleared her throat, smiling "Dear Suguru, I know you can never read this message and not by your own choice...I'm sorry for everything that happened...there's not a day when I don't think about the two of us and how it could have been. I hope you have a happy life, Suguru. I love you." The words sounded like the typical words written by a high school girl for her crush. Too much sappy, if it were to Megumi, but then he took another look at the old picture in the background.
He had never seen Satoru smile like that, yes, he often smiles like a little child, but never like this, never like if he had the whole world in his own hand.
And maybe it was Suguru that made him feel like that, that made him smile so much. Sure, he was laughing but his eyes had never been so bright, shining with happiness.
Megumi was speechless. Satoru had never shown any interest in getting engaged or married in fact even going so far as to say phrases like "good thing I got out of that phase of my life!" or "love for me was useless, just a waste of time and money." Perhaps it was the fault of this Suguru Geto that their father felt that way so negatively and pessimistically about love.
And Megumi was pissed... Was it really all that man's fault that Satoru no longer believed in love? Why the hell did he treat him that way? Was this the way to repay Satoru, who surely had loved him with all his heart? He had taken their father's heart when he was just a boy, held it close to him, crumpling it up and destroying it shortly thereafter. Of course Megumi did not know the whole story, and surely there must have been another reason why Suguru chose to abandon Satoru, breaking his heart.
He wanted to meet him, get answers, and maybe insult him. No one can play with my father's heart as if he were a toy and expect me to do nothing about it , he thought as he clenched his fists.
"Can I meet with him? I want to see this bastard who made Dad sick and hurt.. Then we'll see if I'll give him my blessing to be with him," the boy said coldly. "Oh come on Megumi! You can't do that! It will be Dad's decision whether to get back together with him or not. So let's do it so he can have his happy ending." the she looked at him preaching. At which he sighed. "All right, but if he hurts him I'll definitely kill him."
The church was a beautiful little building in the middle of the countryside. It was built in beige bricks all dusty from time. on the right side of the door was a creeper that went up to the top of the steeple. The roof was of dark wood typical of that area, and the church itself was not very large.
The groom was very handsome according to Satoru, Tsumiki's friends were waiting outside at the entrance with him. Their clothes were simple, pastel lilacs. Tsumiki had chosen them, and it had been a war to choose the right dress.
It was not long before the ceremony began, the bride had yet to arrive, and Gojo could already feel his throat tighten so tightly that he could not breathe.
When he had taken the two children under his wing, he was only nineteen years old. He never thought he would have to walk Tsumiki down the aisle. His little Tsumiki, his princess.
He still remembers the cute ten-year-old girl taking care of her five-year-old brother. She was so very mature for her age. It was not right.
She had been the first to open up about their previous family situation. Apparently, Toji Fushiguro was just an abusive alcoholic, especially after the death of Megumi's mother. Then he and Tsumiki's mother had decided to abandon them.
If Satoru hated anyone it was Toji Fushiguro for sure.
He did not want to focus on that ugly thought, especially since it was Tsumiki's special day! He could not afford to think about that man. Not when his daughter was about to experience the best day of her life. He wanted the best for her.
A black BMW brand car arrived in front of the small church taking him away from his thoughts. It was time, he could already feel the tears pinching behind his eyes, begging to be allowed out, but he could not. Yes of course he was compelled to see his princess slipping away from him, but it was time. He knew it very well, and that was what made him sadder and sadder.
She got out of the car and... well, to say she was beautiful was an understatement. She was simply WOW! He had helped her with her long brown hair, left mostly loose with a slight wavy style, then the two strands in front had tied back with a clip decorated with little metal flowers.
The makeup was simple, just the way Tsumiki liked it, and the dress was simply gorgeous: creamy white, the skirt made of a long, pompous cotton covered then by several layers of fine matte velvet with beautiful floral embroidery on the top and corset. The neckline was a simple sweetheart neckline, perfectly showing off the pearl necklace Satoru had given her for her sixteenth birthday, while the sleeves were of an almost transparent white velvet.
It fit her perfectly; it looked as if the dress was made especially for her. No other girl would have looked as beautiful in that dress as his daughter. He was certain of that.
"Honey, you are stunning." the most beautiful girl in the whole world , he wanted to add but held back. "Do you think he will like it?" asked the girl uncertainly "Oh, honey, he won’t like it, he will adore it, trust me," smiled Satoru fondly. "I don't know dad, I'm afraid..." said the girl looking at him.
Oh the old feeling of fear of getting married.... Satoru had never experienced it, never had those feelings of anxiety or not being enough with his ex-wives.
"Honey, I know you feel that way now, but it's completely normal," he took her hands intertwining their fingers, knowing how much such a simple gesture could calm her. "Take a deep breath with me, we won't go in until you feel ready," Satoru smiled thoughtfully.
"Thank you dad, I love you so much" the girl said smilingly before hugging her father. "You're welcome, Miki" he replied, kissing her forehead. They waited a few minutes before Satoru leaned slightly out of the church door to let the poor priest know that the ceremony would begin shortly.
He took her under his arm and slowly they walked toward the altar. The girl looked at her future husband with a loving smile, and Satoru was so happy for her. He had always wanted her to be happy, and now she had found her happiness.
He could feel nothing but that feeling of pride mixed with the melancholy of losing his daughter, his sweet little Tsumiki who was afraid of spiders but never wanted him to kill them. Arriving at the altar, he kissed her cheek and gestured with his head toward the boy. Take care of her, now that I can no longer do so .
He knew he was probably being dramatic, but he didn't care. He went to sit next to his son, who thankfully had brought tissues for Satoru in case he cried.
The ceremony continued smoothly, the vows definitely made poor Satoru burst into tears. God, he almost looked like a child whose lollipop had been stolen. He felt grateful that Megumi, Shoko, and Nanami were there to comfort him.
He leaned against the shoulder of his friend, Nanami, who in the meantime began stroking his back to soothe him. At the exchange of the rings Satoru could have sworn he saw Megumi wipe away a tear. So he got up from Nanami's shoulder and put an arm around his son's shoulders, bringing him as close as he could to himself. As if frightened that he too might fly away from the nest, leaving him alone and sad. It was still too early !
When the ceremony was over he walked out of the little church, watching the two newlyweds leave.
He sat on a small, rickety wooden bench in front of the facade of the church. He had not yet seen who Tsumiki had invited so he began to scan everyone.
He saw an older woman, the grandmother of his son-in-law, tall and fit despite her age, wearing short gray hair with funny triangle glasses and a black dress with pink flower designs. To her right was a young man with almost platinum blond hair, Satoru had never seen him so he assumed he might be from the groom’s side of the family.
He saw Shoko; the woman, who often did not care about appearance, was wearing a midnight blue dress with a wide black belt to highlight her waist, a black velvet shawl and heeled shoes of the same color. Nanami, on the other hand, was as flawless as ever. His brown linen suit and white shirt showed off the muscles the young man had built up. Satoru quickly noticed that his loafers had been polished.
Then finally he noticed two girls. He had never seen them; they must have been Megumi's age. One of them had straw-blond hair and a very sweet face. She was dressed in a floral skirt and a small pink T-shirt. Of all the look, it stood out the large gold belt that highlighted her waist.
The other girl had her hair tied in a braid that went gently down over her shoulder. She had on a light green dress with flats to accompany it of a similar green and was carrying a puppet. How bizarre , Satoru found himself thinking.
The two pointed at him, smiling before running off into the vast crowd of guests. This was not a strange thing; it was almost routine for Satoru. Being the son of actors also entailed being part of movies and thus being known by everyone.
“ The curse of fame! ” He laughed with his children when it happened. He had always hated it, he wanted to be a normal person not a stupid entertainment for horny little girls.
He got up from the bench, approaching the crowd. By now that the ceremony was over they had to move to the restaurant they had chosen for lunch. He began looking for Megumi among all the guests, and saw him busy talking to the two girls who had pointed him out earlier. Friends of Megumi? Satoru asked himself, approaching.
"Hey 'Gumi! Your sister has set out for the restaurant, shall we go too?" he asked. "Yes okay, you warn the others to start heading up?" Megumi looked at him. "Sure don't worry, start getting in the car, I'll catch up" after that he turned to the guests and invited them to start heading to the restaurant.
He reached his own car and in a few minutes they arrived. The restaurant was a beautiful country house, there was a wisteria veranda at the entrance that made the whole environment almost fairy-like.
Satoru was about to enter the restaurant but the groom's parents blocked him. "Greetings and thanks to the guests!" shouted the woman.
To say that Satoru was irritated was a huge understatement. He didn't want to deal with all those people, he just wanted to watch his little girl dance and have fun! "Thank you for coming..." he said in a monotone tone to each and every guest, without actually stopping to look at their faces.
"Hi, thank you for coming," he huffed, "thank you very much, Satoru ."
That voice, that damn voice.
Satoru felt the color disappear from his face, making him even paler than he usually was. His eyes widened as they made their way to the man's face. It was him, it was Suguru Geto. "What are you doing here ?" said Satoru, shocked. Why was he there? Who had invited him? Shoko couldn't have been, she knew well about his relationship with Suguro, and she was the one who had given him the news all those years ago. He was supposed to be in Kagawa in fucking Shikoku! Why was he there!
"Can we talk?" asked Suguru politely, "no, I have to greet and thank the guests. Now go inside." Imagine this asshole. He disappears for 10 years and expects me to talk to him! Satoru thought, turning so that Shuguru could go into the restaurant.
He passed him by, glaring at him evilly out of the corner of his eye. Had he come to ruin his daughter's wedding day?
How did he know about this bloody wedding? Has Nanami done it? No, impossible.
He had to get away from there, he could feel his legs getting weak, his vision getting blurry-he couldn't stay. He apologized to the guests as he entered the hall, almost running toward Shoko and Nanami.
The two looked at him confused as he tried to open his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. He felt a big knot in his throat that prevented him from speaking and breathing. He could not be seen like that, not by the guests, not by Megumi or Tsumiki!
He ran to the nearest bathroom, followed by his friends, even more confused than before at his behavior. "Satoru, what's wrong?" the woman asked worriedly, hearing for the first time in years, her best friend's voice breaking into small sobs.
"Satoru, tell me what's wrong..." she said leaning against the door. “I hate to see you like this. And there's no way you can deny that you're not ok. I can see that you're so sad and so quiet" she looked at Nanami who actually didn't know what to do, but he tried his best.
"Satoru, tell us the truth, you know that we're a shoulder you can cry on... we're your best friends. We're the one you must rely on" he said in a soft voice, looking at Shoko for approval.
The man opened the door, revealing himself: red blood eyes from the tears, wet cheeks and snot dripping from his nose. Shoko was the first one to come close to him, taking the toilet paper and starting to wipe away his tears and snot.
"What has got you so worked up? Whatever it is I’m sure that it can be solved..." she smiled at him, eyes caring. Kento started to slowly stroking Satoru’s back trying to calm him down looking at the crying man with a slightly worried face .
"He– he's here.. at the wedding" Satoru said, passing a hand under his nose to clean the snot. "Who's here?" they both asked confused "Suguru, he's here and– and i don't know why" he said almost bursting back in tears. The two friends exchanged a surprised look. "Hey, that's fine. We'll take care of that" Shoko said, looking at Satoru's bright blue eyes. “Now pull yourself together and stay with your family.”
Nanami and Shoko left the bathroom giving Satoru the time to calm down completely. He washed his face with ice cold water and took a deep breath. "Everything is going to be just fine. You're ok. It's ok, you'll never talk to him ever again nor see his face!" he whispered looking at his reflection in the mirror.
After a few minutes he left the bathroom and looked around the room for his daughter, which was dancing with her friends. He came closer looking at her with a soft smile on his face.
"Dad!" she said looking at him. He approached her, taking her hands, dancing with her and just looking at her happy eyes made him forget everything that made him sad. He forgot about Suguru, the past, everything. All he could think of was his daughter.
His little princess.
"father-daughter dance!" someone screamed from the crowd and in just a few seconds the only ones on the dance floor were him and Tsumiki.
Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while.
The feeling that I'm losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl.
He took her hand, luckly, he took a few dancing lessons for a role he had to play when he was just a kid. Tsumiki pulled him closer and laid her left hand on his shoulder. Smiling at him.
He took her waist slowly starting to move to the rhythm of the song, making himself getting back to that Wednesday evening years prior. Tsumiki looked at him, pleading with her eyes that he could teach her how to dance. They spent the whole evening dancing in the living room, smiling and laughing.
Just remember that night made him feel tears in his eyes.
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind?
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
He took her for a spin before returning to their slow dance. "You look beautiful darling," he said, looking into her eyes caringly.
"You already told me that daddy!" laughed the girl "I know, but I will repeat it to the end of my days as a lonely and sad man" joked the man stroking her cheek.
Tsumiki looked at him, tilting her head "dad, have you never effectively loved someone?"
Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone, there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go?
Well, some of that we did, but most we didn't
And why, I just don't know
The question left him surprised. why now? It was his wedding, and they had already had similar conversations....
"Oh? Well I told you... love is not for me. I've had my experiences but love is not for me" he smiled wistfully "now let's not think about that.... it's your special day" he kissed her forehead.
"Dad–"
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what's in her mind?
Each time I think I'm close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
"Yes, Tsumiki?" Gojo asked gently "Why can't you believe that maybe there is a person made for you? Yes, the people you married were huge assholes... but it won't necessarily always be like that" she looked at him. "Honey, I know better but why are you bringing this up now?"
Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers
He went in step with the soft notes of the song caressing her side " Dad I want you to be happy..." the girl smiled.
"Now don't think about it, okay honey?" smiled the man making her turn around "can I tell you, Miki? You look like a beautiful princess now" he giggled.
"Oh dad!" she laughed
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
At the end of the song, he smiled, kissing her cheek and gesturing to his son-in-law to approach and take his place in the dance.
He made his way towards Megumi, seeing before him the two children he had raised with blood and tears, but above all with so much love. He still remembers the early days when the two were still in primary school. They did not trust him and he understood them, they came from such a damn complicated situation.
When Megumi had nightmares, Satoru would take him in his arms and start singing his favorite song in a low voice, almost a whisper, while he gently stroked his hair until the little one closed his eyes and was transported to dreamland from sleep.
She loved teasing him the next day, not maliciously, on the contrary! But it was incredibly funny to see the faces Megumi made: red as a pepper and muttering little insults.
God, he could still remember the times when the boy threatened him that if he told a soul he would gouge his eyes out with a spoon. Maybe Satoru shouldn't have let those kids watch such movies... well too late!
"You managed not to burst into tears, I would take that as a victory," the boy said sarcastically. "Oh Megumi, always so mean!" laughed the man "I've already given enough I'd say!" he looked around looking for those purple eyes. He didn't want to see it, he hated the man. However… The sight of the tall and buffered man at the other side of the room made his heart skip a beat.
“Dad, is everything okay?” asked Megumi, with a worried tone in his voice “oh, yeah! Totally fine…Just- wait here a second, ok?" he didn't even bother looking at him, way more interested to walk towards the man he spotted, sitting on a chair, at his side those two girls that he saw a few times during the wedding day and just in front of him Shoko and Kento who were probably giving him a lecture.
"I know, I know... but I just want to talk to him! He can't just- ignore me for the rest of his life!" Suguru sighed. "Then you better start talking. You have three minutes then you're going to leave this fucking wedding."
Satoru interrupted him, looking at him, dead in the eyes. Arms crossed around his chest and a stoic look on his soft facial features. It was totally out of his character, but he was an actor after all, that
was his job.
"Satoru, are you sur–'' Kento started but was quickly interrupted by Satory before he could even end his sentences “don't bother. Let him talk. I wanna know what other fantastic excuses he can invent." "Hey! don't talk about papa like that!" one of the girls said, giving him a nasty look.
“Nanako, don’t worry,” Suguru patted her hair, smiling kindly. The kind of smile that he would usually use with Satoru, when they came back from a long and difficult day on the set. The type of smile that he gave him when they made fun of Utahime. The kind of smile that Satoru would rip out of his face. He despised that stupid, terrible, smirky, beautiful smile…
“I told you, that’s fine, I expected that reaction from him” “You don’t know shit.” Satoru closes his hand in a fist. He needed to calm down.
“Satoru- I know you’re mad but can you just listen to me? Please” Suguru always had that irritating calm voice in every damn situation even though Saroru could sense the exasperation in his eyes. Maybe he should really listen to what he has to say. But what if it’s just a way to make him feel bad, like- like all those years ago.
He could not risk it. He hated to admit it but… he was scared that if he let Suguru back into his life he would just crush his heart all over again. But at the same time, he felt like he needed Suguru in his life to be completely happy.
“Fine, I’ll listen.”
“Thank you, Satoru. I know that you’re mad at me, and I get it but… you have to understand that I didn’t want to move from Tokyo. A year after I moved I took a flight to go back to Tokyo- to you… but then somebody told me that you were already dating a woman that was like- ten years older than you so I simply stopped trying. I thought you moved on with your life… and even though I still loved you and I was heartbroken I tried to do the same. I’ve never found someone who made me feel like I felt with you. Then, a few days ago, I came back here to meet with someone who told me that I still had a chance with you,” Suguru opened his mouth to continue but was interrupted by the blond teen.
“He spent a lot of money to get himself a decent suit for this stupid wedding! not to mention all the money for the flight! Don’t you think that he actually cares? Maybe he came back and you’re here– right now, listening to him, you could stop listening to him whenever you like but you’re still here – I think it’s like…I don't know, a call from destiny?”
Satoru huffed an isterical laugh. “Oh god, she’s your daughter right? My god, she talks just like– like you” he started before looking at him. “Look- I get all that but… why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t be mad! I am mad because you lied to me! You didn’t tell me!”
“I know, I’m sorry. I wanted to but- I was scared. You know what you meant- what you mean to me…”
Satoru looked down, sighing. Suguru cleared his throat, giving him a small smile. “Come on, Satoru. You can’t just- shut me out forever.” he said, raising his voice and attracting most if not every guest in that room.
“Suguru! low your voice” Satoru said, looking around the room embarrassed.
“Satoru, you really want to tell me that you don’t love me back?” Suguru smirked, getting closer to him and invading his personal space. “Satoru, please show them that you love me, and you know it! The only thing you have to say is… I do. If you love me then you say it, if not then I will leave and you’ll never hear from me ever again. It’s your choice.”
Satoru looked at him in disbelief, staying silent. Did Suguru really think that this would be so easy? What if he says yes but then they would not work out? What if Suguru was just making fun of him? What if he just wants him for his money like all the other people he married? What if? What if?
“you’re thinking way too much about that, Satoru.” “Come on, ‘Toru! Give him a chance!” Shoko interrupted, smiling at him “say I do!” she was almost laughing, all the eyes were on them and Satoru felt the huge pressure on him. He wanted to say ‘no’, he had that word at the tip of his tongue and…
“ I do!- ”
His blue eyes were wide as the word left his mouth, he couldn’t describe it. His hands were shaking and he felt his cheeks warming as they slowly turned bright red.
He was pulled back to reality with a brute force. He felt something soft and warm on his lips, it didn’t take long before he realized that it was Suguru’s lips. He knew them damn well, even after all those years.
He leaned to the kiss, almost as he waited for this kiss for a long time, and well it was true.
He could feel the warmth of Suguru’s hands on his waist, which was in contrast with his always freezing hands.
Oh god, he missed him so damn much.
As he slowly pulled away from the kiss he looked at Suguru’s purple eyes, smiling. “Thank you” the man in front of him said, bringing his white hair behind his ears.
Satoru looked around, and suddenly he felt deeply embarrassed. “Uhm…” he didn’t know what to say, too ashamed for the scene he made. Luckily, Kento came to his rescue, gesturing to the DJ to put on some music “There’s nothing to look at here! Go back dancing!” he screamed, attracting the crowd to the dance floor.
Suguru offered his hand, hoping to get a dance with Satoru. “May I have this dance?” the old, kind, calm and soft voice was back, making Satoru smile.
“Sure, why not”
While they were heading over the dance floor, Satoru looked over to Tsumiki, who was watching him with a proud smile. He took Suguru’s hand, leaning on his shoulder and closing his eyes.
As they were slowly moving to the rhythm of the song, Satoru looked at him. “Can I ask you something?” he said, a strange calm settled in his chest.
“Of course, Satoru,” the other one replied.
“Tsumiki asked you to come, am I right?” The man in front of him was speechless, he opened and closed his mouth as if he was trying to say anything that would excuse the girl. “don’t worry- I’m not mad,” he laughed a bit.
“I kind of expected that- she’s always wanted me to be happy… and I thought that she was being crazy because– I thought I was happy but… now I– I think that now I’m happy.”
Thank you Suguru, for never giving up on us.