"There, there... It's okay..."

Luka cried endlessly into the chest of her dear friend Gumi. Her recent breakup was plaguing her, and she paid a visit to her best friend's house for comfort.

"Guumiiiii..." Luka blubbered.

"Shhh... shhhh, it's okay." Gumi kept her arms around her friend, trying to console her. "I'm here, don't cry..."

Luka wished she could stop. She was utterly destroyed by her relationship failure. It gave her a negative outlook on herself, and everything she could have done differently.

"I-if I only hadn't dropped that box!" Luka yelled, crying loudly some more.

Gumi and Luka were on the couch in Gumi's living room. They had spent so many hours there watching television, talking about life, eating snacks, and other things together. This was the first time the cushions were wet with tears.

"We all make mistakes, Luka. If she wasn't willing to forgive you, then maybe it's best that you don't hook up with her."

"But I love her! I love her so much it huuurts..."

"Shh... I know..." Gumi gently stroked Luka's back. Seeing her best friend like this almost made her want to cry too, but she had to stay strong. She had to be there for Luka.

Both the events of the past few days, as well as Luka's own inner troubles contributed to her despair. Ever since she joined the music club, Luka made a display of herself as an emotional wreck to the other members. At least Gumi was understanding.

When she started to slow down and regain her breathing, Luka pulled her head away from Gumi's chest. The green girl did not take her hands off of her, even as she pulled away.

"You feeling better? Did you get enough out?" asked Gumi.

"I think so... Gumi, I'm sorry..." Luka wiped her eyes.

"You apologize too much. Don't apologize for letting your emotions out. I'm happy to help."

Gumi let go of Luka and rose from the couch.

"You're welcome to stay with me as long as you want to. I appreciate having you here."

Gumi was sounding a lot less upbeat and goofy than she normally did. Her tone was warm and almost protective.

"Thank you, Gumi... I'd like to stay for a while longer."

"Of course, my friend. You're in good hands here." Gumi giggled and started for the kitchen. "I'll make some tea. I know you didn't care much for that carrot juice."

Luka relaxed and kept wiping her eyes. She knew that touching them so much would probably be harmful, but she couldn't help it. At least, for the first time in her life, she had someone to go to when she was down.

Gumi and Luka spent the rest of the day together. They drank tea and watched TV, as they always did. While their favorite show, Wai-tu-Wai was on, Luka felt something touch her hand. Without turning her head, she stared down to see that Gumi had put her own hand on top of Luka's. Luka managed a smile, and let it be. The day flew by and the evening fell. The two decided to order a pizza and played a few card games with each other. For that night, Luka forgot her pain. Gumi was a true friend.

It rained Saturday. Luka's mood was back and forth all week, but getting Miku off of her mind was impossible. Luka dropped by Utani Wanai's for dinner. She rarely ever ate out on her own, since she was surviving on student loans and money sent from her family across the country, so she hated spending money she didn't have to. But that afternoon, she had a craving for ramen and sake. Not the instant kind.

To Luka, being depressed was a good reason to treat herself. Given her financial situation and concern for keeping her figure, she did not eat much every day. So when she found an excuse to eat, she gladly took it. The typical patrons chatted at the bar, while Luka sat alone at a table in the back. Luka was old enough to drink, but she never did while out with Miku, who was still slightly too young. She figured that was why she craved sake so much.

"Gumi's old enough to go out drinking with me." an intrusive thought entered Luka's head.

"Wait, what?" Luka asked out loud, having no idea where that thought came from. "I can't think things like that. What am I doing?" Even though it was over, Luka's heart still belonged to Miku. She held out hope that she would one day convince Miku to give her another chance.

Luka slurped her noodles in silence. She wished she had someone to talk to, but being on her own was nothing foreign to her. The restaurant was never that noisy, but it was still hard to ignore the conversations happening around her. The occasional "Did you see the game last night?" and "Gloomy weather today, huh?" and rabble like that. Despite her loneliness, the yummy ramen filled a sad hole in her heart.

"At least I can enjoy myself on my own, too."

Luka took a drink of her plum sake. She held it to her mouth much longer than she probably should have, but she wanted to savor the taste. To forget about life for a while. However, her brief flash of happiness was interrupted by something she did not want to hear.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

With the utmost caution, Luka lowered her glass to find herself staring straight at Flower. She put the glass on the table, and did not say a word aside from:

"Flower."

Flower was standing in front of Luka's table, watching her as she drank. The white-haired punk let out a sniff and invited herself to the chair across from Luka.

"Hello, Luka. You picked a fine night to go out, let me tell you."

"What are you doing here?"

"I got as much right to be here as you. I come here a lot, myself."

Flower raised her hands to the table, revealing two uncapped bottles of beer. She put them on the table in front of her, and slid one to Luka.

"Come on, drink with me." Flower sneered intimidatingly.

"We're not friends, Flower. Kindly get away from me."

"Don't be like that, pinkie. We both got dumped by Miku, so let's revel in our similarities rather than fight about our differences. Let's drink to singularity."

Luka shrugged and picked up the bottle. She actually disliked beer, but didn't want to argue about something so silly. Flower held her bottle to toast to Luka, which Luka hesitantly accepted. The girls drank, then locked gazes. Flower's eyes were somewhat reddish, and unusual.

"I still can't respect you," said Luka. "Not after how you treated Miku."

"You think? If it went for six years, I must have been doing something right." Flower sniffed and took another drink.

"Using dirty tactics."

Flower put her bottle down.

"Luka, Luka, Lukaaaa... Romance works in mysterious ways. I'm sure Miku told you a great deal about me, and Rin too. Still, that's all opinion. I know Miku. I know what she wants, what she neeeeds. I've known her for much longer than you, and even you can't deny that."

"Longevity doesn't mean anything. Actually, that makes it even worse, because you didn't realize how bad you were all this time."

Flower snickered and went for another sip of beer.

"You're a sub, right?"

"Uh... What does that have to do with anything?"

"As you should know, Miku is the type that needs to be protected. You're not the type to do the protecting, meaning your chances with Miku were low from the start. I'm surprised you're even sad about losing her."

"But, how do you know?"

"It shows, painfully. Also, she told me about your little time together."

Luka tilted her head.

"She told you? Wait, you're still on talking terms with her?"

Flower chortled and stood up, giving another sniff and chugging the rest of her beer. Once she finished, she put the bottle back on the table.

"Piece of advice, pinkie. If you want to stay good with Miku, you should probably stop seeing me as the bad guy."

Flower rubbed her nose and turned around.

"See you around." Flower waved behind her and made for the exit. Luka was left at the table, restless after what she heard. Running into Flower wasn't something she expected, or wanted, to happen at Utani Wanai's. Still, she wondered what Flower was going on about before she left.

Luka finished her food, left a tip, and headed home in the rainy night. As much as it tried to overtake her, Luka pushed everything Flower said out of her head for the time being.

Rin nervously paced around the living room, quivering with a cup of tea in hand.

"Thank you for inviting me over, Rin," said Luka from the chair she knew so fondly. "But, what's the occasion?"

Earlier that day, Rin texted Luka asking to meet her at her and Miku's house. Luka had not spoken to Rin since the breakup, so it frightened her a little to face the blonde. Surprisingly, Rin greeted Luka with a smile and was not upset with her, as far as Luka could tell. Something else was troubling Rin, and Luka was dying to know what.

"I don't know what to do. I really don't know..." Rin dropped to the couch and tried to take a deep breath.

"What's wrong, Rin?" asked Luka. "I'm here, you can talk to me."

"I'm sorry, Luka, I'm a mess right now." Rin tried to drink her tea to calm herself.

"Is it because of something I did?"

"No, no! Please don't think that! You did all you could, actually..."

Luka looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"... I wanted to talk to you. This is something you would want to know. That's why I had you come over. I have to tell it to you, face to face."

"Calm down, Rin. You're making me anxious."

"I'm so sorry!" Rin fell off the subject again. "I'm... scared. This is about Miku. I'm not mad at you, though. Not at all."

"Miku? What do you mean? What's happened to her?" Luka was super anxious now.

Rin sipped her tea, then put it on the table in front of her. She regained her composure, and spoke more calmly to Luka.

"It's not your fault. I know what happened on the open mic night, and Miku's always been like that. A fear of fragility, a love for the sense of danger. Dating you didn't give her the 'excitement' she wanted. Miku can be best described as 'heavily reliant.' She needs to be in a relationship all the time, and she needs to rely on her partner for a lot of things. If she's not relying on a tough, overconfident person, she doesn't feel whole. You're a great person, Luka, but she didn't think she could make it work with you. I'm so sorry..."

"So, what are you saying?" Luka prepared for a punch.

"Miku's back with Flower."

Luka threw a book against the wall and shouted in frustration.

"Agh! Why, why why?! Why did this happen?! Nothing can ever go right!"

"Luka, please relax..." Gumi pleaded from the couch. "If you keep throwing my stuff, you might break something."

"Why is she with Flower?! Why? Why?"

"A relationship of six years is hard to get over," Gumi sat up. "Especially a codependent one. You get used to relying on someone, so it's hard to let it go when it's over."

"What about when she said I reminded her too much of her time with Flower? That's so hypocritical!" Luka threw a lampshade at the wall.

"Hearts are weird, Luka. She's doing what she's used to doing. If she likes danger, then she's going for danger. Simple as that."

"But Gumi!" Luka went over to her green friend. "Flower is not a good human being! Have you seen her? Have you spoken to her?"

"I know all about her. She's got a lot of problems, but still. Love is blinding, Luka. Now I'm going to have to ask you to sit down and control yourself."

Gumi became more stern than Luka ever saw her become. She did not have a hint of jest in her as she said this. Luka complied and sat beside Gumi.

"I know you're upset, but you're above this," Gumi continued. "You shouldn't get angry over something you have no control over. Miku is a complex person. If she's not the one for you, you're better off without her. She's not even your type."

"But, Gumi... I love her."

"Sometimes, love isn't enough."

Luka fell back on the couch and groaned, unable to believe anything that was happening.

"Gumiii, Flower doesn't deserve her! You know that's an unhealthy relationship!"

"Yes, but won't it work itself out in the end? If Flower doesn't change, she'll leave her again."

"But, what if she can't? What if Flower seriously threatens suicide, or threatens her?"

Gumi sighed.

"I don't know. Whatever happens, we have to pray for the best."

"We have to convince her to leave her!"

"This is not our place!" Gumi finally snapped. "Getting back together with Flower was her decision! This isn't entirely about Flower, it's about Miku's feelings, too!"

"Gumi..." Luka whimpered. She hated being yelled at, and Gumi was someone she could not see yelling.

"Luka, I know your pain. I really do," Gumi cooled down. "We can't do anything about it. We have to let Miku make the decision. You want her happiness, don't you?" Luka nodded, completely quiet. "Then let her do what makes her happy. I'm not saying I agree with her, heck, I think it's awful that she replaced you as quickly as she did. I still think the reason she dumped you is ridiculous, too. I think she's a great friend, but I question what goes on in her brain a lot."

"You're right," said Luka. "But, I can't stop thinking about it. About her."

"Then, maybe it's time to stop thinking about her."

Luka looked Gumi straight through the eyes.

"You want me to stop thinking about her?"

"Yes..." Gumi replied, but started to back down on what she said. "You know, maybe... find some other things to think about..."

"How am I supposed to forget her? What other things can possibly take her place?"

"She was quick to replace you. I know there are 'other' people that would love so much to be with you. So much..."

Gumi faced her knees as she said this, as if hiding a personal secret. Luka shook her head and rose off the couch.

"I should go. I've caused a lot of trouble here today..."

"No, wait!" Gumi shot up after Luka and grabbed the girl by the arm.

Luka stopped dead in her tracks. She recalled when her and Gumi were handcuffed together, and her love of being overpowered. Something about Gumi's grip was... incredibly strong.

"Gumi..." Luka went back to the couch with Gumi, and moved in closer to her. "Hold me."

"Wha-huh?" even Gumi was confused.

"Just... hold me." Luka laid against Gumi's chest, the same way she did when Gumi comforted her. "I need it..."

Gumi soon understood the message, and put her arms around Luka. She was taken off-guard and surprised by this sudden request, but she enjoyed having Luka in her arms.

"Gumi... you've always been so kind to me..." Luka somehow lost control of herself. She was absorbed into Gumi, hypnotized by her grip.

"You deserve kindness, Luka." Gumi stroked the girl in her hands. "I want to protect you. I want to do everything I can to make you happy."

"I-I think I'm a lot like Miku... I don't think I can handle being on my own..."

"If that's so, then feel free to be yourself. I can take care of you, if you want..."

Even after all the hugs Gumi gave Luka in the past, her passionate hold was enrapturing. Could this have been affection at its highest?

Without any further words, Gumi and Luka let actions do the talking. Luka brought her head up to see Gumi's amorous gaze. For as long as they knew each other, Luka never considered the thought of dating Gumi. But at the same time, she was not opposed to it. This friend of hers gave so much to make her happy, and Luka was grateful.

Gumi gave a light nod, as if she knew what Luka was thinking, which was usually the case. Luka moved her head up a little more, and soon, the lips of the two girls met.

"Guess I've always had a thing for green-haired girls."