The café was filled with life and the strange mixture of the smell of tea and coffee with some added alcohol. Around him students and professors were chattering about various topics, though he could only catch their discussions. School, girls, lectures… They were going on about the usual topics. Nothing interesting.
"Sorry," he heard a voice, before the chair in front of him was pulled back and boy sat down in front of him. "I had some paperwork to drop off at the uni."
In front of him was Fei Rune. Old childhood friend, or something like that. Saryuu still debated about Fei's classification on his list of acquaintances as they rarely every talked anymore.
"I thought you're already done with studying," he looked up, still searching for something common in their past. They hardly had anything what they could use as a root for a conversation, but from the look on Fei's face, he wasn't there for the nostalgia train either. "You've been studying for five years now, if I'm correct."
"Kinda. But I'm kind of a freelancer now, until I finish my thesis, but there are way too many stuff going on, so that might take a while," he smiled.
"Oh, already at the thesis? Knowing you, I thought that would happen, say, never?" he shot a smirk towards the youth.
"Hey, I already have 60 pages and it's counting! Counting!" Fei pressed the last statement.
"I believe you, it's just weird that you got to that point in life. Last time, you were near becoming a dropout with your party hard attitude." His answer was awkward silence. Last time they met, was not a pleasant memory for them and its mark was still visible in their friendship.
Fei awkwardly averted his attention, as his eyes skipped through the menu of the café. His eyes almost automatically stopped at the cheapest drink on the list. A bad habit of living the life of a student, he thought, wasting his money on the cheapest caffeine-sources ever since the first exam.
He refused to react to Saryuu's previous comment and ordered a Wiener Latte.
"Actually, the reason why I wanted to meet you is not about chitchatting," he told him bluntly with some unusual seriousness lingering in his voice. Hesitantly, but he held out his right hand towards Saryuu, showing him a small silver ring. It wasn't the most beautiful piece of metal, but it did the job.
"Who in their right mind would-"
Before he could finish the sentence, the terrible name appeared in the conversation, "Alpha."
The air suddenly got cold, almost tense.
"Since when?"
"Since the last time we've met, or rather… we didn't meet." That meant this relationship started almost four years ago. "But I only got engaged in February."
"Don't you think that you should've told me about it? You get together with a… guy and then you get engaged?!" He tried no to sound too furious, or more like betrayed, but it was hard.
"I tried. So many times, Saru, I almost lost counting. But you were either busy or simply didn't want to meet me. You were the one who closed me out of his life because you got scared the first time you met something that made you feel uncomfortable. I called you!" he still remembered the night what he'd spent at the hospital, the moment when he tried to call Saryuu in the middle of the night only to get scolded because Saryuu was tired, because Saryuu unlike Fei was already working. After Fei told him what happened got a sleepy sorry, before Saryuu hanging up on him groaning something about work in the morning.
He didn't even have the backbone to go to the funeral, leaving the young history major alone with a handful of friends.
"But Alpha stayed," he arrived to the conclusion wearing an apologetic look.
But of course, Alpha was always there like a shadow looming over Fei, slowly leading him back from the forest and showing him to the road of honor students. "Have you come here to boast about it?"
"That was part of my plan, but nope. I want you to attend to my wedding as my best man!" he beamed.
First, Saryuu didn't really know what to answer. Most importantly he was angry at Fei coming to him with such requests, because hell could've frozen over the last few years and he wouldn't even try talking to him. When Saryuu finally had some time, he was the one who made himself busy. And now the same run-away friend is back with such ridiculous request like supporting him on his wedding.
'Who are the other possible candidates?" he tried to sound indifferent, but damn, Fei would let him be the best man. He still considered him as a friend after so many misunderstandings and arguments. Obviously there was no way Saryuu would let go of this chance. He was too proud for that even if he would end up not talking to Fei for another five or six years.
But for the time being he had to play his role. Just to get one memorable piece of memory from their adulthood.
"Well, Chet and maybe, but only maybe, Yokka," the youth started collecting names from his memory.
"That snotty brat?!" Saryuu was about to throw away his cup. Truth to be told the last time he saw the kid they were in elementary school so his memories of the blue haired kid were kinda blurred, but the jealousy he felt whenever Fei chose him over Saryuu made a deep impression on the white haired youth.
"Hey!"
"Sorry?" Saryuu shrugged, then lowered his voice and added, "But it's true."
Fei took a sip from his coffee, wearing the smile he always did when Saryuu was being obvious. "So does this mean that you're in?"
"Only if I don't have to see your fiancé," he grimaced.
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that's what weddings are about. You'll certainly see him all day. But to make it better I invited someone else too." he winked at him. "Someone from a certain soccer club."
A curious gaze flickered through Saryuu's face.
"Well then, count me in. I will gladly be your best man or whatever."
Deals were his speciality after all, and he knew when someone offered him a good one.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A/N: Oh wow. It seems like this University AU certainly ends up being a messy hole-filler drabble meme because the story is just all over the place. Still have to write about the beginning and the reason for Fei's party hard attitude in the beginning. (What caused Alpha some sleepless nights, hold his dormmate's head steady in the bathroom.)
Also their studies:
Alpha - English Major, minors in Archeology
Fei - History Major, minors in Archeology
Saryuu - Biology major, he mostly focused his studies on biochemistry, he ended up working at a medical company
I just really wanted to write something about a broken friendship and how one tried to mend it somehow. Before university the friendship between Saryuu and Fei was strong Saryuu showed Fei the world of parties, though and after his job was done he just stepped out of Fei's life. I want to focus on this in a different chapter, though. So take this as a sidenote.
Reviews are always appreciated. People who love saruten and feialpha are rare birds, after all.
