Two years.

Two years since Mondo started living by himself, since he had to teach himself how to cook, since he started collecting discount coupons for his local supermarket like a little old lady, since he started having to put money aside every time he got paid to make the rent at the end of the month.

Two years... Give or take a few days.

Christ, he felt old.

Kuwata had insisted they celebrate the occasion with a round of drinks... at some insanely expensive place on the other side of the city. Souda, at least, had the sense to reschedule it as a meetup at a bar a short walk away from his place. It wasn't too far, but Mondo still struggled to find the motivation.

Part of him wanted to stay curled up in his futon all day. He had the next few days off so it wasn't like he had anywhere he had to be. The idea would be much more appealing if he wasn't wasting away in his sheets. It was the final push to get him dressed and out the door.

He wouldn't call Kuwata and Souda 'friends,' per se. They were drinking buddies at best, and a pair of assholes he could punch in the face at worst. Souda was slightly easier to get along with, mostly because he had more than one conversation topic ready and wasn't desperately pretending he was straight. Kuwata sure as hell wasn't fooling anyone with his constant girl talk.

They were all perched in a booth in the corner, Souda finishing off his fourth beer while Kuwata was wobbling after his third. Mondo was still only on his first, mostly so he wouldn't have to dig too far into his wallet when they finished up.

He was trying to look as inconspicuous as possible so he could just get this over with and go home. It didn't help that Kuwata was talking far too loudly and drawing far too much attention.

Mondo could've been doing a million other things that would've been way more productive but instead he was stuck listening to Kuwata ramble on about the new girl he had his eye on. Mondo was pretty sure that neither he, nor Souda would ever meet her and he doubted they ever would.

"Seriously, I'd go for it if she didn't put on this weird lovey-dovey act whenever she's around Naegi. And he's totally oblivious to it! It's like he doesn't care that she's basically throwing herself at him."

"She might not even be into him, it might just be how she acts around her friends," Souda offered weakly. Kuwata narrowed his eyes.

"Oh yeah, what, like how you're basically ready to suck your furry boyfriend's dick whenever you see him. But nah, you guys are just good friends."

"He's not a furry, would you drop that?!"

"Oh, so you don't deny the rest of it?"

"H-Hey, shut up! C'mon, Oowada, help me out here!"

Mondo honestly wasn't paying attention. It was an excuse to get out of bed, he told himself, an excuse to go out on a Friday night rather than staying inside all by himself. The music and chatter from the patrons was already giving him a headache. He was regretting this decision more and more every second.

"Hey, Oowada, you okay?" Souda asked, "You look kinda sick."

"'m tired," Mondo grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face and glancing away. Souda wasn't convinced.

"Nah, you look like you're about to hurl."

"Yeah," Kuwata piped up, "if you're gonna be sick, at least do it on Souda."

"What the hell, man? That's just gross."

"But it'd be funny," Kuwata offered. Souda rolled his eyes and glanced back to Mondo.

"Seriously though, you might wanna go home or something."

Kuwata scowled. "He can't go home, then there wouldn't be any point of us bein' out here," he slurred.

"I'm not sick," Mondo grumbled.

"You sure? You look like shit, honestly," Kuwata said, not so much concerned, more stating the facts.

"Gee, thanks."

"Why the heck are you so grumpy? C'mon, at least pretend to be happy. You're killing my buzz."

Souda gave him a look. "Don't be an ass, let him be grumpy if he wants to be..." and then to Mondo, "Mister Grumpy Gills."

A snort came from Kuwata. "Whatever..." he muttered, then turned his attention towards the bar. Two women were sat on the end closest to them, a redhead in a cardigan and a blonde with pigtails in a sundress, giggling together over a pair of cocktails. Kuwata had been spying on them all evening. Mondo vaguely recognised them from their past few visits. They would come in, turn down any extra company, and then wobble out the door together at the end of the night.

"What do ya think? I bet I can get them to come over," he said with a lazy grin.

"No way man, you'll get shot down the second you get up," Souda warned, but Kuwata was already halfway across the room.

He leaned on the bar beside them and both women visibly tensed. Mondo could barely hear their conversation over the noise.

"You come here often?"

"Um, can we help you?" The redhead asked with a nervous smile. The blonde had a look of murder in her eyes.

"Go away. You're stupid and ugly," she spat. The redhead looked horrified.

"Hiyoko, please-"

"We're not interested. You're creepy and you smell bad."

"I'm sorry about her, she doesn't mean it-"

"Yes, I do. Get lost."

Kuwata was devastated, trudging back over to the booth and dropping down beside Souda, who was trying his best not to start laughing.

"That was tragic," he said, patting his shoulder as a meek attempt at comfort.

"I'm struck silent by how quickly you gave up," Mondo said.

Kuwata suddenly sat up, knocking his hand away and grinning as if nothing had happened. "I'll try again later when they've had a few more. We'll have to find one more for Mondo, don't want him to be left out."

"Who said either of us wanted to sleep with anyone tonight?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, your tastes are more fluffy, aren't they?"

"I swear to God if you bring him up again I'll-"

"I'm good," Mondo said, finishing off his beer and pushing up to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Kuwata said with a raised eyebrow.

"Home, I'm too tired. You guys do whatever." Mondo left the money for his drink and shoved his hands in his pockets, lumbering away and ignoring whatever Kuwata yelled after him.

Why did he even bother? Everything was such a chore. Everything was too difficult. He didn't want to try anymore. What was the point when nothing ever changed? Every day, get up, get dressed, go to work, go home, have the same goddamn dinner every goddamn night, and go to bed to do it all over again tomorrow. He was sick of it.

He stopped and shook his head.

No, he wasn't going to get stuck in this ditch of self-pity again. He'd already been through it and didn't feel like going back.

The next morning he checked his phone to find three missed calls from Souda and one from Kuwata. He deleted the voicemails. He didn't eat breakfast, didn't have the energy to make himself anything. He left the house and went for a wander. Just to clear his head, he told himself.

He could really go for a coffee. He didn't give a shit if it tasted like dishwater, he needed a caffeine fix.

The first place he could find was a pretty modern looking little café on a street corner. It looked as if it were built yesterday and the smell of fresh cakes filtered through the window.

As he opened the door to enter, he felt it collide with a small weight and heard a heavy thud on the other side. The door had smacked right into whoever was stood there.

He opened it fully to see the person on the ground, rubbing their forehead and attempting to hold back tears. He didn't think he'd put that much force into it, but maybe it was because of how small they were.

It took him a few seconds to snap out of his haze before he held out a hand to the person.

"Awh crap, are you okay?"

They took it after a moment of hesitation.

"Y-Yes, sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Nah, don't worry about it."

He yanked them to their feet with little effort. It was only then that he got a good look at them.

They were most likely not much taller than five feet. Their features were soft and round, almost chubby, and dotted with light freckles. Even their hair was styled in such a way that it could suit any gender. It was almost impossible to tell their gender just by looking at them.

But Mondo recognised him instantly.

"Chihiro?"

The boy blinked a few times before his eyes lit up.

"Mondo!"

Neither of them were doing much, so they decided to get a table by the window and catch up. Chihiro had a monstrous piece of sponge cake while Mondo tried to fight through the bitterest coffee he'd ever had.

"Is it drinkable yet?" Chihiro asked as Mondo added a fourth sugar. He took a swig and shook his head.

"Nah, not yet."

"Seriously? Damn, I can't believe this is how it ends. Death by caffeine overdose. Not a great way to go."

Of the few friends Mondo had made in his life, Chihiro was possibly one of the only ones he truly valued. The two had met in middle school when they were paired together for a project and were rarely apart until Chihiro went off to university.

He hadn't changed much since then. He was a little taller and his face was a little more angular with a little more hair, but other than that he was almost exactly the same. He had the same smile, the same gentle voice. He could still probably pass for a girl if he wore a skirt.

"I want to get back into wearing them but..." he shrugged and fussed with the thin fabric of his blouse, "I mean, I still have so many, it seems like a waste to not wear half my wardrobe, you know?"

Mondo hummed. Chihiro shook his head.

"I'm sorry, was I boring you? It's probably not that interesting to hear me talk about skirts and stuff."

"Nah, it's fine. It's nice hearing you ramble. Makes it feel like we're little kids again."

Chihiro nodded. "It feels like it was only yesterday..." he mumbled, taking a bite from his cake, chewing slowly to savour the taste, "... that you were almost the same height as I am now."

"Still haven't reached your growth spurt?"

"I have, believe it or not!"

Mondo snorted. "Awh, I can't believe you're a gremlin."

"Come down here and fight me," Chihiro grumbled, narrowing his eyes.

"Who said that? Speak up, you're too small."

Chihiro laughed and leaned across the table to flick his nose. "Ha, ha, very funny. At least I didn't think it was super cool to have a pompadour for five years."

"It was six years, actually. If you're gonna insult younger me's fashion sense, at least get the time frame right."

"That's even worse! Six years with that thing in your face, no wonder you never had a girlfriend."

"... Low blow, man."

Chihiro grinned and leaned back, watching Mondo for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Your new hair looks pretty good though, to be fair."

Mondo's hand drifted up to his hair, tied back in a loose ponytail, and shrugged. "Yeah well, most people don't want a kid with gangster hair making their furniture."

"That's fair. How about the tattoos? They're only tiny so they should be okay, right? Unless you got some new ones you haven't told me about."

"Gotta keep 'em covered up when I'm in the shop. It's hell this time of year."

"I can imagine!" Chihiro ate another forkful of cake and rested his head on his hand. He smiled to himself, then directed it to Mondo. "But you're happy there, right?"

"Hell yeah! The old man who runs the place is way too nice for his own good, but other than that, it's pretty great."

"So you've... bounced back alright? From... you know..." Chihiro trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Mondo stared down at his coffee, tapping the side with his dull fingernails. "I guess... I mean, I think I'm doin' okay. Apartment's not too shitty, job pays pretty well..." He took a gulp from his mug. "Can't complain."

Chihiro didn't look too convinced, but said nothing.

"How's stuff been with you, anyway?"

"Nothing that interesting... I'm on a computer science course but you already knew that..." Chihiro played with his fork for a few seconds before suddenly perking up. "Oh yeah! I'll have to introduce you to my roommate. He's super nice! He helps me keep on top of all my work and stuff. You two are actually kinda similar... You'd probably get on pretty well."

"There's always a catch though." Mondo took a gulp of his coffee, winced at the taste, and added another sugar. "Does he jerk it every night or something?"

Chihiro screwed his face up in disgust. "If he does, he's very good at keeping quiet."

"Or maybe he gets off to someone else being in the room. I'll have to ask when I meet him."

"Ew, no way! Don't you dare!"

As Chihiro laughed, Mondo found himself strangely at peace for the first time in years. He'd missed having a real connection with someone. Maybe he was so starved for affection that he'd take whatever was handed to him, but the way Chihiro smiled convinced him that it had to be more than that.

"Hey, Chi, I've really mi-"

A high pitched chime cut him off as Chihiro's hand shot to his pocket for his phone.

"I'm gonna be late for my English class!" He squeaked.

He stumbled to his feet, dumping some loose change onto the table. He scribbled something onto a napkin and handed it to Mondo.

"Sorry we had to cut this short but we can hang out some other time, right? I wrote down my phone number, so..."

"Huh? Yeah, sure, that's cool," he said, trying not to sound too disappointed at his sudden departure.

"Great!" Chihiro beamed, rounding the table to squeeze Mondo in a quick, tight hug, "Let's meet up here again tomorrow, okay?"

And with that, Chihiro turned and scurried to the door and outside into the humid afternoon air. He didn't look back.

A/N: Cross-posted from my AO3 account because apparently people still use this website? I haven't been on here in forever so *shrug emoji*

Read the AO3 version here: /works/7941193

I try to update every Friday but school is such a butt that I'm not 100% sure if I'll manage it.

Thanks for reading. :D

- Ria -