Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph or its characters. The plot was inspired by a prompt I found earlier. Enjoy.

Yuu stole a glance at Mika, who was yet again tapping his foot anxiously, his chin resting on his hand as he stared out the window, a thoughtful expression on his face. Yuu saw his best friend look at him from the corner of his eye, but the blonde, seeing that he was already being stared at by the person he tried to peek at, immediately went back to looking out the window. Yuu sighed; he couldn't take this.

Mika has been acting...strange all day. He couldn't understand why, though, which further infuriated the raven-haired boy. He was supposed to read him like an open book, yet here he was, wondering what was wrong with him. Mika was easily flustered, now, whenever Yuu teased him, his cheeks, if not his whole face, flaming red as he stuttered some weak-ass comeback, which was, again, unlike the blonde. It seemed as if the flirty, sarcastic, and bold Mika was replaced by a shy, quieter, and more thoughtful one. However, although he was acting strangely, his care for Yuu hadn't wavered; hell, he still freaked out when Yuu got so much as a scrape from tripping and falling.

It wasn't just the change in attitude that got the green-eyed boy slightly worried and puzzled. Shinoa and Mitsuki seemed to tease him quite a bit, whispering words to the blonde that were inaudible to Yuu when they strut past. It must be some real bad teasing, too, since Mika would blush like mad and actually make an excuse to leave the room. He also seemed to stare at Yuu thoughtfully a bit too much, though he brushed it off just as him staring into space.

Mika was also one of the most popular and good-looking boys at their school. Of course, this didn't baffle him. With those beautiful sky blue eyes of his and impossibly soft blonde locks, of course he'd be popular with the girls, Yuu thought to himself, slightly glumly. He didn't want to drift apart from Mika- he was the most important thing in his life. He had the rest of his friends, yes, but he and Mika had a profound bond. The two were nearly inseparable and could read each other like an open book. Most of the time. Besides, the two stayed in the same orphanage until they both scraped up the bare minimum amount of money to rent a place together.

So when Mika turned all those cute, amazing girls down for the upcoming dance, he knew something was up. It was quite obvious; his little Mika (although, he wasn't so little anymore- he was taller than Yuu now. He remembered when they were kids that Mika used to be the short one, but thanks to a growth spurt when he was about 14, he surpassed Yuu in terms of height) had a crush. But on who? Yuu didn't recall Mika looking at anyone for a little too long, or ever voicing any interest in any girls at the school, nor did he ever find the blonde giving anybody lovesick stares or glances.

Yuu, dying to figure out who it was, finally decided to confront him. He got up from his seat, then pulled out a chair next to Mika and took a seat, much to the blonde's surprise. Mika blinked, and Yuu grinned like a Cheshire cat. "So, who is it? Who's the lucky lady?" Yuu asked and watched with amusement as his friend's cheeks flushed.

"What?" Mika asked, laughing and scratching the back of his neck. Yuu rolled his eyes,

"Oh, come on. I know you have the hots for someone," He chuckled, and Mika scoffed.

"No, I don't." He said while looking away as he tugged lock of his hair, then flicked away. Yuu rolled his eyes.

"Miikkaaaaaa," He whined, sitting forward. "I know your lying; you pushed your hair outta your face like you always do. Now who is it? Do we know her?" Mika cleared his throat awkwardly.

"It could be a girl. Or not." Yuu blinked, before he got the message.

"Oh. Oh," He said. "Is it a guy? It's okay if it is, I won't judge. Is it Y-"

"Yuu-chaaaan!" Mika groaned. "I said it can be a girl or a guy!" Yuu rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know," He scoffed. "But I gotta explore every possibility!"

"Fine, whatever, weirdo," Mikaela mumbled before averting his eyes elsewhere, anywhere other than the boy in front of him.

"Hey, Mika," Yuu said, poking his arm. He didn't look up. "Mika, Mika, Mika!" Mikaela groaned, not looking up from the book he'd brought out.

"Can't you be quiet for one minute, Yuu-chan?" He grumbled quietly before going back to reading. Yuu scoffed.

"Course not, especially when I don't know who caught the eye of the ever-so-popular Mikaela Shindo!" At Mika's silence, he decided to continue.

"Is it someone we know?" Mika didn't reply, although his cheeks did turn a bit red. Yuu grinned- he was getting closer. "Is it Yoichi?" Mika made a horrified face.

"No!" He exclaimed. "We all know that he and Kimizuki have a thing going on," Yuu considered this- he supposed that the two did spent quite a lot of time with each other, and often disappeared from the group. Yuu suppressed a shudder; no need to imagine that.

"Mitsuba?"

"Not even close."

"Kimizuki?"

"The telephone pole? No."

"Shinoa?"

"Geez, I thought you had a brain up there," Mika teased. "Guess it's all just hot air instead." Yuu took that as a no. He frowned. He'd been watching Mika's movements as he replied. He hadn't touched his hair at all whatsoever. Either he had somehow managed to stop that habit, or Yuu just didn't list who it was that Mika had an eye for.

So who could it be?

"Then who is it?" He asked. "I wanna know who the lucky person was that captured your pretty little heart," Although his voice had a teasing tone to it, he couldn't help the words that tumbled out of his mouth. Pretty little heart? Really? He hoped his cheeks weren't colored red like Mika's currently were.

"...I'm gonna go to bed," He muttered, still blushing a little, "it's nearly eleven, and we have a huge science test tomorrow."

"Ehh?" Yuu began, wide-eyed. "We have a test tomorrow?!" Mika snorted.

"You didn't know?" He asked. "Well, I suppose that's very Yuu-chan-ish. It's, like, 75% of our grade so I don't think you wanna bomb that test," Yuu gaped- he had no idea. Mika grinned.

"Just kidding." He said. "But I'm still going to bed. Cya in the morning, Yuu-chan." With that, the blonde left the room, leaving the green-eyed boy alone with only his thoughts.

It was then that he processed it. "So Mika finally found someone he actually likes. I thought he was asexual for a while," He mused quietly, despite the small, dull pain in his chest at the realization. Mika liked someone. That someone, a very lucky person, had the great Mikaela Shindo as their admirer. For some odd reason, he felt a pang of hurt and jealousy. Perhaps it was because he was afraid of that person hogging up all of Mika's love and affection, causing Mika to forget about him and drift away while Yuu gradually faded into the background and became a long forgotten memory.

When he thought of this, he immediately felt mortified because not only did he sound possessive and overdramatic, but because it was true. Mika was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to him, and he was far from ready to give that up. Despite him grumbling and whining about Mika caring too much, he secretly loved it. He loved not being treated like trash. He loved how Mika actually cared for him. He loved how Mika could easily make him laugh and smile even when he was on the verge of tears. He loved how Mika often looked at him with fondness and affection- a look that Yuu hadn't known before he met the blonde boy. He loved, though it worried him, how Mika would always help Yuu through tough times, not giving a second thought about himself. He loved it- all of it. He paused.

Where the hell did these thoughts even come from? He thought, somewhat irritated. If I said that out loud, then someone would get the wrong idea and think that I'm actually in love with Mi- He stopped, mid-thought, and time seemed to freeze as the crushing realization slapped him right in the face.

He didn't just love the way Mika treated him. He loved Mikaela. He loved his jokes. He loved the way he usually smelled faintly of roses and cologne. He loved his flirty, snarky personality. He loved his laugh. He loved his tender, careful touch and his playful punches. He loved how he scratched his cheek or rubbed the back of his neck when he was nervous or embarrassed. He loved how he sometimes sang him to sleep when he had another awful nightmare. He loved his smile. He loved his voice, his eyes, his face, his hair. He loved everything about him. The realization was hard to process. Mika had been there for him since he was about eight years old, and despite his rude and sour attitude, he still cared for him and even befriended him.

Now that he thought of it, he was surprised he hadn't seen the signs sooner. Telling only Mika of his past, his darkest fears, getting easily flustered (although at the time, he supposed he felt anger, too) when someone accused him of going out with Mika or something similar. Perhaps it was also because of how when he was with Mika, he felt safe. Happy, which was probably why he was so desperate to keep him by his side.

So desperate not to lose him to whoever this person was.

Because Yuu didn't want Mika- he needed him. Mika was his last connection to his old family- the one that was slaughtered. He still remembered that day. Not only was it the day nearly everyone he loved died, it was also the day he almost lost Mika.

He was only 12 when it all started. They were all going out to a lake somewhere in the woods. Their director at the time let them go alone, since she was busy and the woods weren't very far from the city. However, it all went south when a group of men showed up. At first they seemed friendly, the silver haired man with ruby red eyes (Ferid was his name, Yuu later learned) especially, although it was directed to Mika more than to them. Then they tried to get them to follow them, since it was growing dark and he insisted that they needed a place to stay in the meantime. Being suspicious of the men, they all declined, but the men instead took them by force. They were all going to be used as child laborers, they told them after some time. They took them to some huge, huge house somewhere in the woods. After a several hard days, Mika, that glorious, sly bastard, stole a map from Ferid's room and they formulated an escape plan.

After another day of preparation and thorough planning, the escape was in action, though it would later take a grim turn. Ferid, who apparently knew about it all along, waited for them in front of their exit to freedom. Yuu and Mika tried to hold him off, but he was too strong and swift for them. They had to watch as they were all slaughtered by Ferid, who was using a sword to either slit their throats or behead them. Mika apparently valued Yuu's life more than his own, and with a gun he found, charged toward him. At first, he dodged, swiftly ducking and leaning away from the blade. Then things took yet another turn for the worse. As Mika leaped up to go in for the kill, Ferid took that chance to stab him right through the stomach. Yuu would never ever forget the image of Mika being impaled by the sword as Ferid knocked the gun, which Mika pointed at his head, out of his hand. Cocky asshole. As he said when they met at the exit, "I want to see your pretty little face contorted with despair!" it seemed as if he wanted to see the blonde suffer. After managing to get the dagger and stab the back of Ferid's neck, Yuu tried to get Mika out with him.

The stubborn blonde refused, telling him that he was gonna die from blood loss anyways and that he should go, since the guards were already coming. After lots of tears and yelling, a brokenhearted Yuu finally left. After he was outside, running for about two minutes and a half, he ran into Guren, who was a part of the FBI. After rescuing Mika, who was barely alive at that point, and arresting or slaughtering the rest of the men, they were both rushed to a hospital where Mika was stuck in a coma for nearly a year while Yuu was a complete mess. Guren took a depressed Yuu, who ate very little and spoke even less, in and eventually started to heal him over time. When Mika woke up, the two became nearly inseparable, even more so than before until Guren finally bought the two of them an apartment.

Not only that, but he was afraid that if Mika preferred his partner over Yuu and left him for good, not giving him a second thought, he wouldn't be able to make it. He barely pulled through the first time, but he was positive he just couldn't for a second time if he lost Mika again.

Not only did Mika serve as the only connection to his old family, but Yuu was attached to him far too much. To the point where he couldn't imagine a life without that smart yet idiotic blonde that was too kind to everyone. That idiotic blonde that was at the top of the class, yet couldn't understand how to work an oven and trusts everyone too easily. Yeah, that was the idiot that he fell in love with and could never live without.

He also feared of Mika leaving him. Ever since they became friends, the two have been leaning on each other for support and comfort in times of need. Though they were nearly inseparable, though he and Mika shared many amazing memories, Yuu still feared that Mika was only sticking with him because he had nobody else. He was afraid that he repulsed Mikaela, that he served as a reminder of that fateful night when their camping trip went horribly wrong. But above all, he feared that Mika blamed him. For everything.

Because it was all his fault, wasn't it?

"Yuu-chan. Hey, hey, Yuu-chan." A voice whispered. Yuu grumbled and turned over, but the person was persistent.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Yuu-chan." Yuu grumbled, a little louder this time, loud enough for the blonde to make out a sleepy 'leave me alone'. "Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan, Yuu-chan- Yuu-chan, Yuu-chaaaaaaaaaan!" He felt someone poke his cheek, and he reluctantly opened his eyes.

"What," He mumbled, looking at Mika then at the clock beside his table, "could you possibly want at 3 a.m?" He turned the lamp beside him on and sat up, blinking as the dark room was suddenly filled with light.

Mika shied away from the light, putting his arm up to block it from his face, then finally looked up.

The thing about Mika was that he was one of those people who already had messy, untamed hair every day. Mika was also one of those people who had a horrible case of bed head ("sex hair", Yuu liked to call it) ever. His hair was sticking out everywhere, as curly as ever. The blonde wore a baggy white shirt that was way too big for him and grey sweat pants. He was barefoot, and he hugged a white pillow against his chest. Yuu frowned.

"Nightmare?" He asked, scooting over and peeling a portion of the covers back for Mika to sit down. Usually when Mika had a nightmare, usually about his abusive parents who threw him out of a moving car, he would instead wander to Yuu's room and sleep with him instead. When the nightmares were especially bad and he woke up screaming, Yuu would come to his room instead. He'd spend hours comforting him. He never minded. After all that Mika had done for him (making and selling so many things on the streets, begging, and even taking on so many jobs that he'd sometimes come home around midnight, all so that they could eat, as the orphanage was very poor and held only a small handful of children, as well as pulling him out of his depressed state) he needed to repay the debt. Besides, it always broke his heart to see cheery, kind, sassy Mika with a traumatized, fearful expression on his tear-stained face.

Mika looked down. "Well..." He mumbled. "Yeah." He could tell that he was embarrassed, and Yuu frowned. Usually when this happened, he wouldn't act embarrassed at all. He'd just wordlessly jump in the bed with him and kind of hug him like a huge teddy bear. At first Yuu voiced his surprise at this, but eventually came to deal with it to the point where he didn't even mind; at least he had another source of warmth.

"Why d'you look flustered for?" Yuu asked, squinting before he grinned, trying to break some of the tension in the air. "Unless you had a pretty steamy dream?" Mika's face turned completely red and Yuu chuckled. He liked to fluster him- he looked cute when he was embarrassed.

"N-No!" He defended. "I...just need some...love advice." He mumbled. Yuu nearly chocked on air. Mika, the smoothest flirt ever, couldn't be asking Yuu, a boy inexperienced in love who didn't even know how to deal with girls, or boys for that matter, much less talk to them, to give him advice. It must be a dream.

"I'm sorry, did you just ask me for advice on love?" He gawked. Mika nodded, and Yuu groaned. "Mikaaaaaa...you know that I'm a total noob at romance, right? If you take my advice you'll probably end up getting slapped or kicked in your manly jewels. Besides, aren't you a hella smooth talker?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. Mika sighed, scratching the back of his neck, looking away from Yuu, cheeks blazing with the color red. Aw, Yuu thought, how cute.

"W-Well, yeah under normal circumstances but I really like this person and I've, um, known them f-for a long time, so I-I don't wanna screw up, y'know?" Yuu squinted.

"Known 'em for a long time, hm?" He said, wondering who it could be. He was aware that he was in love with his friend by now, and with the dance approaching, he doubted he could muster up the courage to ask him out. Mika did, after all, have a crush that he refused to tell Yuu about. "Do I know them?" All he got in response was a shrug.

"Um. Maybe," He said, uncertainly. Yuu sighed, and rubbed his temples. Talking to the guy you realized you're in love with about his crush who you don't even know isn't very healthy, not to Yuu, anyway.

"So what d'ya need?" Yuu asked, giving a weak smile, "I'm a love expert now, apparently." Mika smiled softly, and crawled into the bed, his shoulder pressed against Yuu's, neither of them minding the close proximity. For a moment, they sat there in blissful silence before Mika spoke.

"I plan on telling the person I...um...admire that I like them, but I don't know how." He muttered. "I need help. Got any advice, Yuu-chan?" Yuu gave him a blank look as he tried to think up of a good way to get Mika to admit his feelings over this mystery person. Did he want Mika to go off and date this person while he sat here with an aching heart? Hell, no. Of course not. Was it selfish? Yes. It was. But all in all, he really wanted was for Mika to be happy- he deserved it after everything he went through.

"Um." He stated dumbly as Mika stared at him from under his lashes, his sky blue eyes seeming to pierce through his soul. It was hard to think when someone like Mika looked at you like that, so could you imagine the difficulty Yuu was having just to form words and voice them. For a moment, his struggles to speak ceased as he stared at Mika up close.

His head was tilted slightly to the right, like how it always was whenever he was confused or asking a question that was tough for him to answer. Yuu always found that gesture to be kinda cute, even before he realized his feelings, though he would never ever admit it. Mika was turned so that the was facing Yuu, although Yuu himself was still in the same position as when he turned on the light and let Mika into his bed; turned on his side so he could look at Mika without craning his neck to look at him, his elbow propped up and his chin resting on his hand. Mika was sitting crosslegged, his hands in front of him and pushing into the mattress, leaning forward as if he were an excited child. His eyes sparkled with curiosity and amusement as he frowned and flicked a curled golden lock of hair away from his cheek. Yuu didn't realize he was staring until Mika chuckled.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, grinning, "Or am I just that hot?" Yuu shot him a glare, his cheeks lighting up red.

"S-Shut up! You wish!" He snapped. "You want some terrible advice or not?" Mika nodded eagerly and Yuu sighed as he began to speak.

"Uh, I dunno...try hanging out with them a lot I guess. Then when the moment is right, ask them to the dance." Mika blinked.

"That's all you came up with, Yuu-chan?"

"Well I told you I wasn't some damn love counselor!"

"I know, I know." Mika rolled his eyes. "But how should I act around them? How should I confess? What do I say? Oh God what if they don't feel the same way? I'd make our whole friendship awkward and ruin it all, oh my God what do I do, oh God, oh God what if-" Yuu sighed and sat up properly, then impulsively grabbed Mika's hand, which was tugging at his blonde hair in frustration. Yuu jumped at the contact, a blush heating up his cheeks, though he decided not to let go.

"Fuck, your hands are cold," Yuu mumbled as he grabbed his other hand. Mika was one of those people that always had cold hands and feet, despite giving off lots and lots of body heat. He rubbed Mika's cold, soft hands with his own, both in a reassuring manner and to get them warm again. "Calm down." He took one look at Mika's panicked expression and noticed that he was nearly hyperventilating.

"Let's take a breather, okay?" Yuu said gingerly, so gingerly that it surprised him. "Do it with me. In," He took a deep breath in, and Mika managed to do the same after a couple of tries. "and out. Good, you're doing good, Mika." He exhaled and Mika did the same until he was breathing normally.

"Now, you listen to me, and you listen well." He ordered, sternly, despite Mika's surprised expression and his widening eyes. It was strange for Yuu to act so serious when he was with Mika. "Life is about taking risks. And there's no point in sitting around wondering if this person likes you or not when you can just find out the truth yourself, and if you don't act fast, then...well," He smiled sadly. "They might've already moved on. So you just gotta go up to this person and tell 'em. Ask them out to the dance or somethin'." Mika blinked, slowly.

"And...what if they don't return my feelings?" He whispered. "I don't want to ruin our friendship." For a split second, Yuu thought that Mika meant theirfriendship but quickly processed the rest of the sentence and, somewhat dejectedly, though he didn't show it, dismissed the idea.

"Then screw them." He said, firmly. "Try to act normal, and if they begin to act weird around you and things constantly get awkward, tell them you got over it. And if they give you a hard time," He said as he cracked his knuckles, "I'll give 'em hell." Mika giggled weakly.

"Ah, thanks, Yuu," He said, smiling, though something seemed to be hidden behind that smile. Something that Yuu couldn't put his finger on, but let it slide when Mika asked yet another question.

"Hey, Yuu-chan?" He asked.

"Mm?" He replied.

"How should I act around them?" He asked. Yuu shrugged.

"Dunno, depends on the person." He answered, and Mika pouted.

"Well, just tell me how you'd do it then." He said. Yuu thought about it- that was a good question. He'd probably just be himself, but more...

"Flirty. As much as it'd hurt my pride, acting cute would probably be nice, too. Maybe seductive if you're sealing the deal and you know they're interested. Other than that, I guess I'd just be myself." He said, thoughtfully.

"Oh," Mika replied, yawning, "okay. Thanks, Yuu-chan." After about a minute of silence, which was unusual for the two, as they were always chatty with each other and always found something to talk about.

"We should go to sleep," Yuu said, awkwardly, as he shut the light off and turned around to sleep on his side. He wondered why he felt so nervous all of the sudden. Perhaps it was because of the strange silence enveloping the two. Yeah, that must be it.

"Yeah," Mika said, quietly as he also began to settle for sleep. The only sound that can be heard in the room was the sound of their breathing. About ten minutes of silence has passed, and Yuu found himself tossing and turning, being unable to sleep. He knew why, though. It was because of the dreaded question he so desperately wanted to ask Mika. The question that had been in the back of his mind every single day ever since he was 14. The question that he nearly asked Mika a thousand times but was too afraid of the answer. The question he had the sudden, strong urge to ask.

Why, he didn't know. The dreaded question had just popped into his mind suddenly. He bit the inside of his cheek, wondering of he should ask Mika- every day, the question lingered in his head. Every day, he caught himself almost asking the question. And every day, he was too much of a coward to do so. But the urge to ask now was stronger than ever. His grip on the edge of the blanket tightened.

What if his suspicions were right? What if Mika really did despise him? A hundred things could go wrong, and his heart could be broken if any one of them do. Although he supposed he wouldn't blame Mikaela if he did hate him. Yuu hated himself, too. He turned back around and bit his lip as he gazed at the back of the blonde's head. He could put an end to the suspense once and for all, right here, right now.

A part of him wanted to know, and another part didn't. Quenching his curiosity would at least stop him from staring up at the blank, white ceiling late at night, wondering if Mika hated him. But then if Mika really did hate him-

The blonde shifted and turned over. Beautiful sky blue eyes stared right into equally mesmerizing emerald green ones. Mika brought his hand up and caressed the ravenette's cheek, his hand no longer ice cold, but warm. The touch was timid, tender, and most of all loving. It made Yuu's heart skip a beat, then thud quickly in his chest. "Yuu-chan..." He whispered softly, stealing Yuu's breath away. Yuu's lips parted slightly, as if to say something, but no words came out. It was as if he forgot how to form the words and speak them and breathe all together.

"What's wrong?" Mika's tone was quiet, soft- understanding. Their bond always amazed Yuu. They were at the point where they didn't even need to talk to know if something was wrong with the other, the point where they could nearly read each other like an open book. Nearly.

Yuu swallowed the lump in his throat- it was now or never. He sat up. "I..." He trailed off. Despite imagining this scenario a thousand times, he was at a loss of words. He only had one shot at this, and if he did it wrong...

"Yuuichiro?" Mika said, softly, as he also sat up, stealing Yuu's attention away from his thoughts immediately. Mika never said Yuu's actual name. Even in serious situations, he just called him "Yuu". It sounded strange to hear his actual name coming from Mika, although it sounded very vaguely familiar, as though he'd actually heard him say it before. But what-

"Yuuichiro, you idiot, get the fuck out of here and run! Run as fast as you can and don't you dare come back!"

"Do you blame me?" He finally said, the dam that held the question back breaking, though it came out in a shaky, terrified whisper. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked the tears that began to invade his eyes back as he watched Mika stiffened, eyes widening and mouth parted in a small 'o'. He began to look away, finding himself unable to look into Mika's eyes. He was afraid of what he'd see.

He felt two warm hands grab the sides of his face and direct it back toward the blonde's slightly horrified face, and he felt the lump in his throat rise up once more. "Yuu-chan.." He whispered, his voice cracking at the end. He stared at Yuu as if he were the most tragic thing in the world, as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Mika rubbed his thumb against Yuu's cheek, wiping a lone tear that escaped Yuu's right eye away.

"No...how could I ever...?" He whispered, pausing to swallow thickly. Yuu noticed tears slowly begin to accumulate in the blonde's eyes. "How could I ever hate you?" Yuuichirou tore his gaze away from those blue, blue eyes. Whenever he looked in them, he was reminded of that night. He saw the eyes that once contained despair and pain, nearly completely devoid of any hope. Right now, when he looked at them, he could hear Ferid's accomplices's footsteps right behind them, he could hear Mika's screams and pleas for him to save himself. He could smell the metallic, irony smell of blood and the mildew that grew on the walls. He could feel every ache in his body at the time, he could feel his lungs burning, begging for more air, as he ran, the grass poking at his feet as he ran. He was afraid that if he looked in those eyes any longer, he'd just lose it.

Yuu snapped himself out of the thought, quickly deciding that he shouldn't further remember that night. Some memories were better off lost forever. "I..." Yuu whispered, his throat feeling dry. "I left you...to save myself...and if only I got you out faster, th-then maybe..." He bit his lip, which was starting to quiver. He averted his gaze elsewhere, finding it difficult to look the blonde in the eye.

"Yuu," Mika said, quietly. "Look at me. Please." Yuu did as he was told and was mildly surprised to find Mika's cobalt blue eyes filled with tears. Even so, he managed to crack a smile, despite the tears that were now streaking down his cheeks. He watched numbly as one of the crystal droplets clung to his chin before jumping to the bedsheet.

"If you didn't get out and get help, we would both either be dead or stuck in that horrible place. You did the right thing," He told him, his eyes never leaving his. "You had no other option. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I?" Mika tried to smile at his friend, but Yuu still felt guilty.

"But you spent nearly a year in a coma!" Yuu protested. "And...our family...I couldn't...I just stood there and watched...I could've saved them, but I couldn't move...I was...too scared..." Yuu bit his lower lip, though it did no good, as the tears he contained in his eyes immediately came rushing out, streaking down his cheeks. Mika was quiet for a minute, studying Yuu closely. Not that he noticed. He totally didn't notice the impossibly blue eyes piercing through his soul.

"Were you..." He said, quietly, his cheeks starting to dry now. "Were you telling yourself this the whole time? That it was your fault?" Yuu stayed quiet because Mika had gotten it spot on. Ever since they were all slaughtered in front of him, he'd been convinced it was his fault. He didn't move a muscle because he was scared to die. It was pathetic. It was selfish.

"Yuu...you were just a kid-"

"So were they!" Yuu objected, guilt flooding into his gut, heavier than ever as the faces of his former family popped in his head. "They were younger than me, dammit...I was supposed to...protect them..."

"It still wasn't your fault!" Mika interrupted. "You didn't come up with that plan; you didn't lead them into that trap. Besides, the fact that you feel so guilty means that you care. As long as you care, they'd forgive you, though you did nothing." I looked up at him to find that he was crying once again, but plastered a smile to his face.

"...You know it's not your fault either, right?" Yuu mumbled, feeling slightly better and lighter than before. It seemed like Mika had brought him comfort; and now it was time to comfort him back. There was no reply.

"If we stayed, who knows what could've happened." Yuu tried. He wasn't as good as comforting people as Mika was, so he wasn't very experienced in making people feel better. In fact, he's usually used to making people pissed off at him instead. "And...well, there's no point dwelling about something that's already long since happened because what happened, happened. You cannot change it no matter how hard you think about it, or how much you wish you could go back in time. If you're living in the past, you cannot move forward. At some point, we must all let go of our past and begin to live in the present. Blaming yourself constantly for something that was never your fault just shows that you will never forget, and in the end, isn't that all that matters? I think both of us should stop living in the past and start living in the present. Together." He took one of Mika's hands, in his and squeezed it lightly. The blonde looked up, looking a bit shocked. Perhaps it was because of the sincerity and gentleness in Yuu's voice.

"Yeah..." He said, quietly, then louder, "Yeah. Sounds...sounds like a plan." A small smile graced his lips, and Yuu smiled too.

"You know..." Mika mused. "That was kinda deep for you," Yuu sputtered.

"Wha-What do you mean it was deep for me?!" He asked loudly. Mika chuckled.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," He said, a small smirk playing at his lips. "I just never pegged you for the kind of guy that has meaningful, inspiring thoughts floating around in that cute little head of yours." A hot blush rose to Yuu's cheeks and he scoffed.

"Oi! You shut up!" Yuu snapped, slapping Mika's arm playfully. "You don't know whether or not I contemplate the meaning of life or something like that on a daily basis!" Mika rolled his eyes, the tension between the two slowly melting away like ice cream on a hot summer day.

"I find it hard to believe that someone who watches an anime about giant naked guys and constantly picks fight with teachers can have such deep thoughts," Mika stated. Yuu sighed.

"The anime's called Attack on Titan, okay? And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, I find it hard to believe that someone who aces every class aggressively procrastinates on every project and spends the majority of their life on Tumblr." Yuu said confidently. Mika just shrugged and flashed him a smile.

"Well, I guess I'm full of surprises, huh?" He said in a low voice that made Yuu's heart race. Yuu felt the blood rushing to his cheeks as he stared at Mika. His blonde hair framed his face, and the ends looked curled. His blue, blue eyes looked bluer than ever. They were bluer than a cloudless sky on a warm, summer day. They were bluer than the ocean that stretched endlessly across the whole world. They were bluer than a robin's egg, bluer than blueberries. They were bluer than chlorine-filled pools. And to Yuu, Mika's eyes were far more beautiful than all those things that could never be as blue as his eyes.

Yuu didn't know that he was leaning in and closing his eyes until he realized that he couldn't see Mika's blue ones. He also didn't realize that Mika was also leaning in until he could smell Mika's minty breath and the ghost of his cologne. "Yuu-chan..." He whispered. "Go to the dance with me?"

Yuu didn't even have to think as he blurted his answer out. "Yes." With both eagerness and caution, Yuu finally closed the space between them by pressing his lips against Mika's.

Mika's lips felt as soft and as light as a feather against Yuu's at first, but eventually Mika began to get over his slight shock and kissed back, their lips moving in unison. Yuu had read plenty of romance novels and fanfiction (not that anyone knew, of course. It was like his guilty pleasure) and realized that they were right about first kisses with the one you love- it was perfect. The kiss sent shivers down Yuu's spine and a warm, giddy feeling ran settled in his chest. The kiss was like watching fireworks for the first time- scary at first, then the fear gradually melting away to mesmerization and awe. Mika brought his hands up to cup Yuu's face as he deepened the kiss, and Yuu brought his own to Miku's shoulders, his fingers running through the soft, blonde locks. They were only human, which meant, unfortunately for them, that he had to break away for air, which they reluctantly did.

The two simply stared at each other, panting slightly, faces mere inches away from each other. Finally, it was Yuu who broke the silence between them. "That was..." He looked like he was trying to come up with the correct words to say and voice them aloud to his companion. "...better than I imagined." Mika raised his eyebrows, chuckling softly.

"You imagined it?" The blonde watched with amusement as the raventte's face turned crimson.

"We-Well, I- I mean-" He stuttered. Miku chuckled at Yuu's embarrassment.

"H-Hey! Don't laugh at me!" Yuu said, taking a pillow and smacking Mika over the head with it. Mika's giggles gradually died down as he looked up at Yuu, eyes twinkling.

"You're just too cute, Yuu-chan." He chuckled. Before Yuu can protest any further, Mika leaned in and gave Yuu a passionate kiss. Yuu didn't protest.

Now that they looked back on it, it was funny. Because they would start dating, then they would graduate highschool, then they would go on to college. Yuu would drop out, but Mika would finish.

Mika and Yuu would move in together after that, then they would get engaged, then married, then they'd adopt their own kids, then they'd grow old and gray and withered together, then their bliss-filled lives would come to a peaceful end.

And it all started because of the dance.

Yeee! My first MikaYuu fic! *throws confetti* It took me forever to finish this, ah God. I hope you all enjoyed! The kiss scene was actually my first time writing one so I apologize if it's bad. Also, there will be a bonus chapter that will contain various endings that I thought up of (most will be depressing or angsty) so stick around if you wanna read that!

Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please leave a comment and tell me what you thought!